Before the 2019 season, the Phillies signed Bryce Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract.
You already know this.
Five years have passed and it’s hard to imagine the signing having gone much better. No, it hasn’t resulted in a parade just yet, but it has netted an MVP award in 2021, an NLCS MVP in 2022, a trip to the World Series and a follow-up trip to the NLCS that saw them finish one win short of a second consecutive pennant.
At 30 years old, Harper still has another eight years left on the contract he signed five years ago, taking him through his age-38 season.
So it certainly comes out of right field (see what I did there?) that Harper’s agent Scott Boras says the future Hall of Famer wants a contract EXTENSION.
Yes, Harper’s camp wants the Phils to add an ADDITIONAL 3-5 years on the end of the 8 years he has left on his current deal. Such an extension would be unprecedented in baseball history, and virtually every baseball analyst/insider would agree on the inadvisability of extending Harper with so much of his current contract yet to be played out.
Part of the motivation to re-do his contract could be the fact that his $25.4 million average annual salary ranks 41st in MLB. He is underpaid. But of course, every player who signed a contract five years ago is underpaid based on today’s salaries, which increase every year.
With the exception of the steroid era, players always become less effective as they age, especially in their late 30s/early 40s. Harper wants to play into his 40s, and there’s reason to think he will hold up better than most as he ages. Of course, Harper has also suffered from periodic back spasms throughout his career, and he also has a Tommy John surgery under his belt.
Signing Harper to a contract extension now, with so much of his current contract yet to go, would be a bad baseball decision.
It would also be a good idea to make sure it happens.
Harper wants to be a Phillie for life and, by the time all is said and done, it’s entirely possible he will go down as the greatest player in franchise history. We’re also talking about the years 2034-37. Do we really care right now about 10 years from now?
Harper’s current happiness also should be taken into consideration. It is more valuable to keep him happy now, while he’s in his prime and the Phils’ World Series window is propped open, than risk bad feelings taking root at a time when the team is so close to getting over the hump.
It’s a smart negotiating tactic by Boras, and my guess is the Phillies will make it happen sometime before spring training.
Yes, an extension for Harper would be a terrible baseball decision.
It’s also something they should probably do.
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Updated Dec. 9
