Reports: Harper spurns D-backs rivals Dodgers, Giants to sign with Phillies
Feb 28, 2019, 2:05 PM | Updated: 3:04 pm
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
Only one of the two biggest free agents in baseball this offseason will sign with an NL West team.
MLB Network’s Jon Heyman on Thursday was first to report that free agent outfielder Bryce Harper will sign with the Philadelphia Phillies, spurning potential NL West suitors the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants.
Harper’s deal will be 13 years for $330 million, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan.
Earlier reports had Harper linked with the Dodgers and Giants as potential landing spots for the 25-year-old, who spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Washington Nationals.
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If Harper would have signed with either team, it would have been another tough break in a tumultuous offseason for the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Star third baseman Manny Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with the last-place San Diego Padres last week, a move that should help them compete with the rest of the division.
The D-backs, conversely, traded face of the franchise Paul Goldschmidt in the offseason and lost stars Patrick Corbin and A.J. Pollock to free agency.
Even the Colorado Rockies made a big splash this week, signing star third baseman Nolan Arenado to an eight-year contract extension.
Harper would have instantly improved either the Giants or Dodgers — who have a combined five World Series appearances this decade — so 13 years of him not in the NL West is a sigh of relief for the D-backs.
