Is the Bryce Harper Contract a Good Bet?

[DGS49]

He's a good player who has had exactly two excellent seasons. AllStar team selections are meaningless these days, so that proves nothing.

What can the Phillies reasonably expect in the coming years?

Not to be unkind, but he is not the hitter that Albert Puhols was at that age. He will average .270, 25 HR & 75 RBI over the ive of this deal. His athleticism is good but not great. What are the chances he will finish this contract, injury-wise?

I'm just not seeing it. Like an auction where some rich bastard forgets himself and bids crazy.

 

[Toronado3800]

He's a good player who has had exactly two excellent seasons. AllStar team selections are meaningless these days, so that proves nothing.

What can the Phillies reasonably expect in the coming years?

Not to be unkind, but he is not the hitter that Albert Puhols was at that age. He will average .270, 25 HR & 75 RBI over the ive of this deal. His athleticism is good but not great. What are the chances he will finish this contract, injury-wise?

I'm just not seeing it. Like an auction where some rich bastard forgets himself and bids crazy.

The last 3 years seem a bit much in this non steroid era. He'll be a .190 hitter by then. For the next several years its as good an idea as anything in that non salary cap league.

 

[Synthaholic]

This is an awful deal for the Phillies. Harper is not worth anywhere close to this amount. He’s going to spend a lot of time on the DL.

 

[leftwinger]

Guys a proven offensive clutch machine. Did you see the playoffs ar SF? The toughest out in DC for sure. Get him out of weird DC is what DR ordered.

I think he will go MVP level again. LH power bat, hello. Good fielder.

Great sign by PHI. Teams like STL or LA should have went all in on this guy for their holes in RF.

The money? Big market teams keep raising the ceiling, i give up on it. Who would you rather have? Scooter Gennet? Skip Shumaker? McCuthen? Ooops.

Come on. This guy is top 5 for sure IMVHO w/o keyboard.

 

[Oddball]

He's a good player who has had exactly two excellent seasons. AllStar team selections are meaningless these days, so that proves nothing.

What can the Phillies reasonably expect in the coming years?

Not to be unkind, but he is not the hitter that Albert Puhols was at that age. He will average .270, 25 HR & 75 RBI over the ive of this deal. His athleticism is good but not great. What are the chances he will finish this contract, injury-wise?

I'm just not seeing it. Like an auction where some rich bastard forgets himself and bids crazy.

Not as bad as the Twins overpaying Joe Mauer, but still pretty shaky....IMO.

 

[Papageorgio]

Great deal for Bryce Harper, just over 25 million a year for 13 years. Philly is stuck with Harper no matter what and I am not seeing 10 plus year contracts working out for the team.

 

[Pilot1]

The Phillies will get a maximum of 5 to 7 years of good production out of him. They know that's it. They paid what the new market price is for a top five player. They also know the risks and are betting they will get more attendance and eventually TV revenue if they are a top contender.

 

[HaShev]

NOTE: Phillies cleared salaries the last couple years for this reason.
Fact: it weakened a division rival.
You keep him out of a conferance rivals arsenal.
You are just seeing Harpers production, but what about the benefits to those batters hitting before and after him receiving better pitches? Hoskins being one of them. And lastly, he will hit even better in Philly as his record shows
1HR per 13 ab.

 

[Dogmaphobe]

Well, his signing with the Phillies rather than the Giants probably added a hundred points to his ops at least.

 

[Markle]

Simple. And I don't follow baseball...except when the Cubs won the World Series.

If he puts the behinds in the seats and in front of the screens, YES, if not, NO.

 

[BlackFlag]

He's a good player who has had exactly two excellent seasons. AllStar team selections are meaningless these days, so that proves nothing.

What can the Phillies reasonably expect in the coming years?

Not to be unkind, but he is not the hitter that Albert Puhols was at that age. He will average .270, 25 HR & 75 RBI over the ive of this deal. His athleticism is good but not great. What are the chances he will finish this contract, injury-wise?

I'm just not seeing it. Like an auction where some rich bastard forgets himself and bids crazy.

As a Nats fan, I'm happy that the Nats did not re-sign Harper for 13 years and $330 million.

 

[MarathonMike]

Harper is the most hyped baseball player in history. I remember hearing about him when he was 15. IMO he has the ugliest left handed swing ever and will not be a consistent 300 hitter. Ticket prices will go up and Philly's ability to pursue top talent will be impacted. That's a lot of eggs to put in the Harper basket, I think it was a dumb deal.

 

[candycorn]

He's a good player who has had exactly two excellent seasons. AllStar team selections are meaningless these days, so that proves nothing.

What can the Phillies reasonably expect in the coming years?

Not to be unkind, but he is not the hitter that Albert Puhols was at that age. He will average .270, 25 HR & 75 RBI over the ive of this deal. His athleticism is good but not great. What are the chances he will finish this contract, injury-wise?

I'm just not seeing it. Like an auction where some rich bastard forgets himself and bids crazy.

Baseball is not like other sports. One player can be neutralized at the plate where as in Basketball or Football the offense can feature a player. Spending that much on one player is a good investment as far as investing in that one player goes (in 5 years if production holds he’ll be underpaid on a year-by-year basis). How the line-up is constructed around Harper is more important.

 

[McRocket]

What a crazy deal.

The guys numbers are ALL over the map.

Almost every major statistic - offensively and defensively - he puts up has varied wildly over the past 4 years.

Bryce Harper Stats | Baseball-Reference.com

You give ginormous contracts like these for guys who play consistently great for many years. But this guy is flaky to say the least.

I would be very surprised if the Phillies do not one day regret this deal. Maybe not this or next year - but eventually.

 

[Synthaholic]

You know what’s REALLY crazy? When Harper’s 13 year contract ends the Mets will still be paying Bobby Bonilla.

 

[candycorn]

You know what’s REALLY crazy? When Harper’s 13 year contract ends the Mets will still be paying Bobby Bonilla.

I hope there are other athletes who have followed Bobby Bo’s lead on this. I doubt it…but what a masterful move by him to structure the deal that way.

 

[DGS49]

No doubt he will be a solid player and will improve the team, marginally. Will he put people in the seats? For one season, possibly, then, when the team falters that effect is gone.

The question is, does the team have infinite resources.What will they have to give up in future years because of this financial burden?

I don't see it.

 

[rightwinger]

Bryce Harper is a $10 million ball player who has had one $30 million year and one $20 million season

Phillies can expect some stretches where he is the best in the game, other stretches where he is a very good player and about a third of every season where he is injured

 

[WillPower]

The way Harper shopped himself around after turning down the second best offer he got....from the Nationals who raised him from a pup, I believe he's mercenary enough to say fuck it....I got guaranteed money, why should I dive for that ball, or not get the "flu" instead of facing a tough lefty that day? Miguel Cabrera signed for HUGE money in Detroit and still shows up early and has to be dragged out of the batting cage years later. Depends on the player....do they seek greatness and a HOF legacy or the money? Somebody once asked Joe Dimaggio why he played so hard every game and he said: "there may be a kid in the stands who's never seen me play....I won't let him down."

 

[Rocko]

13 year contract??? Man baseball players have it good