Bryce Harper signs 1-year, $13.625M deal with Nats, avoids arbitration
Nolan Arenado, Manny Machado among others who reached deals
Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals agreed to a $13.625 million US contract for 2017, avoiding arbitration and more than doubling the slugging outfielder's salary two years before he can become a free agent for the first time.
Harper was paid $5 million by the NL East champion Nationals last season, when he struggled with injuries and took a big step back after becoming the youngest unanimous MVP in baseball history in 2015.
He hit only .243 with 24 homers and 86 RBIs in 2016, significant drop-offs from the .330, 42 and 99 of a year earlier.
Still only 24, Harper is already a four-time All-Star and he was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2012. One of the top topics of discussion with regard to the Nationals — and all of Major League Baseball — moving forward will be whether the team will be able to sign Harper to a long-term deal. He can go into free agency, with the chance to sign with any club for hundreds of millions of dollars, after the 2018 season.
"With every player that you acquire, it's a possibility that you may lose them in their specific time frame. With Bryce Harper and every other player that has a contract expiring, you better make plans," Rizzo said last month, when asked about preparing for the chance that Harper could leave before the 2019 season. "And it's not just Bryce Harper; it's everybody on the roster."
There were a plethora of other players who reached deals to avoid arbitration on Friday as well, with the most notable listed below (all figures US):
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3B Nolan Arenado, Colorado Rockies – 2 years, $29.5 million
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P Jake Arrieta, Chicago Cubs – 1 year, $15.6 million
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SS Xander Bogaerts, Boston Red Sox – 1 year, $4.5 million
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CP Zach Britton, Baltimore Orioles – 1 year, $11.4 million
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SP Gerrit Cole, Pittsburgh Pirates – 1 year, $3.75 million
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SP Jacob deGrom, New York Mets – 1 year, $4.05 million
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3B Todd Frazier, Chicago White Sox – 1 year, $12 million
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P Matt Harvey, New York Mets – 1 year, $5.1 million
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1B Eric Hosmer, Kansas City Royals – 1 year, $12.25 million
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SP Dallas Keuchel, Houston Astros – 1 year, $9.15 million
- 3B Manny Machado, Baltimore Orioles – 1 year, $11.5 million