OT: Bryce Harper to Phillies

[Ewekon]

Sucks being a Mets fan.

 

[UCDaveD]

Sucks being a Mets fan.

At least you're not paying $24M/yr for a 36 year old, steroid using 2nd bas...oh.

 

[8893]

As if I didn't dislike the guy enough already.

Oh well, it will be good for the rivalry.

 

[Waquoit]

Sucks being a Mets fan.

The tie-in is I took this at a UConn game.

 

[Austin316]

His situation might have been different had he not played mediocre at best last season.

Then again 13 yrs. $330m says otherwise.

I wonder if he’ll make a UConn donation lol.

 

[alexd]

So Harper is 26 and they signed him for 13 years. He got the deal of a lifetime.
He's going to take the Phillies to the cleaners for the last 3 or 4 years.

 

[Robertelamin]

Good lord thats a long contract.

 

[uconnphil2016]

Harper isn’t even that good

 

[mauconnfan]

Awful contract Philly all in huh.......

 

[UCDaveD]

If Harper is worth $330M, Mike Trout should get $500M

 

[alexd]

As this dragged on, everyone figured he wouldn't get his 10+ year deal. Instead Philly just bent over... LOL

 

[Edward Sargent]

Well Ryan Howard's big contract didn't work out so well so we'll see. I live in Clearwater BTW and Howard built an enormous house on the Gulf which someone said he recently sold at a significant loss!

 

[Dream Jobbed 2.0]

13 years we’ll be playing baseball on Mars. Jesus.

 

[uconnphil2016]

If Harper is worth $330M, Mike Trout should get $500M

Right? Seeing this deal is making me wonder what the Red Sox will have to pay Mookie Betts, who I think it's safe to say is a better player than Harper.

 

[8893]

View attachment 40312
The tie-in is I took this at a UConn game.

deGrom sucks?

 

[chalk1]

I am a Phillies fan, but not a big baseball guy. This makes my summer sports interest peak. At least they will be relevant for years to come and may bring home some championships. I do agree the last few years maybe much like Ryan Howard. Maybe we trade him to the Mets after 8 years or so.

 

[CTBasketball]

Phils better win at least a few WS titles or it won’t be worth it.

 

[UConnStats]

Right? Seeing this deal is making me wonder what the Red Sox will have to pay Mookie Betts, who I think it's safe to say is a better player than Harper.

He's easily better than Harper, but he'll be 28 upon hitting free agency. Trout will be 29. I think they're both going to get 7-8 years $30-$34M per year, but they can probably both go for 10 year deals at a slightly lower AAV if they choose. Depends how they value length vs AAV.

 

[Caronimo]

People are going to love to hate on this deal but IMHO it’s a good move for the Phillies. Good, maybe not great. Here is why:

1. Although 13 years is insanely long, he’s what? 25 years old. He isn’t even in his prime yet and has obviously shown MVP potential when he’s healthy. The annual contract isn’t that much for a guy of his talent and potential. We’ll see if he lives up to it.. obviously ways to go.
2. Love him or hate him, he’s so marketable and will put people in seats. Most kids seem to like the guy.
3. This team will be competitive now and probably through much of this contract. They quietly picked up Realmuto, Cutch, Harper and Robertson this offseason. Those are players. They’ll miss the arm of Sixto Sanchez but Realmuto was worth it.
4. Possibly creates a big rivalry with the Nats. This isn’t a reason why it’s a good signing, but figured I’d throw this out there as an interesting piece. Nats fans could be booing him.

Should be a fun season. Looking forward to it. For the record, I’m not a Phillies fan. Harper can hit .290 with 115 rbi and they won’t be happy!

 

[B1GEast]

Are the Mets still paying Bobby Bonilla?

I'm glad we didn't land Harper. Honestly i'm surprised teams are shelling out this much cash.

 

[huskymedic]

Sucks being a Mets fan.

 

[uconn13]

get in line for your $15 Bud Light at Citizens Bank Park

 

[Stainmaster]

13 years we’ll be playing baseball on Mars. Jesus.

*Blernsball

 

[andy34]

Well Ryan Howard's big contract didn't work out so well so we'll see. I live in Clearwater BTW and Howard built an enormous house on the Gulf which someone said he recently sold at a significant loss!

Harper is getting the same AAV as Howard did 9 years ago, in a sport where revenues have skyrocketed. Phillies will be just fine, and Harper is probably a moron for not insisting on an opt-out clause.

 

[UConnStats]

Harper is getting the same AAV as Howard did 9 years ago, in a sport where revenues have skyrocketed. Phillies will be just fine, and Harper is probably a moron for not insisting on an opt-out clause.

$25M is not going to be a big figure in a decade. There’s risk in the fact that it’s a 13 year deal and injuries happen, but the DesignatedHitter is going to come to the NL soon enough and Harper's upside is a lot higher than that AAV would typically suggest. I also tend to believe that players that don't rely on speed/defense are more likely to retain their value as they age. I like the deal for Philly.