© Brad Mills | 2018 Jul 16
When Bryce Harper reportedly turned down a 10-year, $300 million deal from the Nationals months ago, it seemed unlikely that he’d re-sign there this offseason. Now it’s official.
In an exclusive interview with NBC Sports, Nationals owner Mark Lerner revealed that the club has moved on from Harper, and that they haven’t spoken with the former MVP or his agent for a couple of months.
“Nothing’s certainly changed on our end,” owner Mark Lerner told NBC Sports Washington’s Todd Dybas Friday. “We’ve moved on. As I said back then and we had to. There was no way we could wait around. Bryce, I’m sure will make his decision hopefully in the next few days, but we’ve filled out our roster and like I said, we wish him nothing but the best.”
“But there’s always that, the door’s cracked a little bit,” Lerner added. “I have no clue at this point what they’re up to. We really haven’t heard from them in a couple months.”
It’s been reported in recent weeks that the Harper sweepstakes is a two-team race between the Giants and Phillies, but that Philadelphia is currently the favorite, as they are willing to offer Harper the long-term deal he is seeking. The Giants reportedly have bristled at anything exceeding a seven-year deal.