Super agent Scott Boras continues to be the talk of the baseball world as teams take up residence in Orlando for the Winter Meetings.
His top client, Bryce Harper of the Washington Nationals, is now also becoming the talk of the meetings.
No, Washington isn’t looking to move the former NL MVP. Instead, the talk is all about Harper and the Nationals engaging in discussions about a potential contract extension.
Scott Boras says he met with Nationals ownership last month for preliminary discussions on a Bryce Harper extension
— Jamal Collier (@JamalCollier) December 13, 2017
When pressed on the topic, Boras noted that it’s “up to ownership” whether a long-term deal gets done between now and the 2018 season.
The talks themselves are preliminary in nature, and a lot would have to happen in order for a long-term deal to be signed.
Rumors swirled that Harper could be in line for a contract that would pay him north of $300 million prior to the Nationals extending him through the 2018 campaign (more on that here).
As we saw with the Giancarlo Stanton deal in Miami prior to the Marlins trading him to the Yankees, deals of this ilk can handcuff an organization. This makes it important for the Nationals to think long and hard about handing out that type of cash to Harper.
Harper, 25, hit .319 with 29 homers, 87 RBI and a .413 OBP for Washington last season. He’s seen as one of the top-five players in all of baseball and the foundation upon which the Nats will build moving forward.