MLB Rumors: Bryce Harper-Phillies $330M Deal Held Up By Contract Clause

The Bryce Harper saga rumbles on and it almost looks certain to enter March with new teams entering the fray at the last minute. The Philadelphia Phillies looked favorite to land the outfielder but the emergence of the San Francisco Giants and more recently the Los Angeles Dodgers has threatened their position.

The in-demand free agent has been courted by multiple teams throughout the winter, but the pursuit got serious in the last few weeks with the San Diego Padres, Giants, Phillies, and Dodgers all scheduling face-to-face meetings with Harper and his agent Scott Boras.

The Padres are most likely out of the race now after they signed Manny Machado to a 10-year $300 million deal earlier this month, and the Giants are now considered outsiders as they are only willing to offer a short-term deal, which Harper is not interested in.

The Dodgers, however, are being considered a potential destination for the right-fielder owing to their proximity to his hometown of Las Vegas and their spring training destination in Arizona. Reports are now claiming that if they get close to the Phillies’ offer, Harper could end up signing with the Dodgers as Philadelphia is not his No.1 choice.

It was reported by Bleacher Report’s Adam Lefkoe that the Phillies and Harper had reached an agreement over a $330 million deal over 8 or 10 years during owner John Middleton’s recent visit to Las Vegas. There was also a press conference said to be scheduled for Wednesday, but there was no intimation from either the player or the franchise about the same thus far.

94WIP Sports Radio’s Angelo Cataldi claimed that the deal in terms of valuation and duration was agreed by the Phillies and Harper, but the deal was held up by Boras’ demand for an opt-out clause. The six-time All-Star’s agent was said to be insisting on adding a clause to his client’s 10-year deal, which would allow him to leave after three years.

The Phillies are said to be against adding the clause as it will paint them in a bad light. It will almost certainly give the impression that Philadelphia was not the player’s number one choice before he even steps on the field. It remains to be seen if the Phillies, who have admitted they are willing to spend "stupid money" this winter can get the deal over the line for the most sought after free agent in baseball at the moment.

“Here's what has actually been going on," Cataldi said on his Tuesday morning show on 94WIP. "By the way, I can't reveal who gave me this information, but I'll just say a little birdie. This is great information. Friday, (John) Middleton goes to Vegas. By then they've already got the money settled. He's there for one reason—to get the final approval of the last detail in the negotiation, which is something that didn't even exist 10 years ago. It's called the opt-out clause.”

“Now, in big, big deals the player gets the opportunity to bail on the contract at a certain point. Scott Boras, from day one, has insisted that there be an opt-out clause in there, quite honestly, because he's not positive that Harper will like it here. That is part of the whole situation,” he said.

"Boras said we have to have an opt-out and it has to be after year three," Cataldi continued. "Three years guaranteed and then we get the chance to leave. If we don't, then we get the other seven years and he's here for the full ten. He gets the one opt out after the three.”

“They (the Phillies) say, not only does that not work for us, but we can't sell that to Philadelphia. We're gonna poison the well before he gets here. He's basically saying, we're not sure about Philadelphia. The opt-out clause is what's holding up an agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies and I can tell you, Scott Boras insists that it be three years."