Bryce Harper Rumors: Phillies, White Sox Willing to Offer 10-Year Contracts
The Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox are reportedly both willing to offer free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper a 10-year contract.
According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, the Phillies and White Sox are the only organizations other than the Washington Nationals known to be willing to give Harper that much term.
Per Bob Nightengale of USA Today, Harper turned down a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Nats late in the 2018 season, which suggests it may take an even bigger deal to land him in free agency.
Along with infielder Manny Machado, Harper is the prize of free agency. With both players seemingly having many of the same suitors, the signing process has been a lengthy one.
Passan noted that Harper may be willing to hold off signing until February in hopes of landing the term and money he desires.
The 26-year-old slugger is coming off an up-and-down season that saw the Nationals fail to reach the playoffs, but he still put up strong numbers with a .249/.393/.496 slash line, 34 home runs and a career-high 100 RBI.
Over seven MLB seasons, Harper is a six-time All-Star, and he was named National League MVP in 2015 when he hit .330 and clubbed 42 homers.
The Phillies and White Sox are both intriguing potential destinations in big markets.
Philadelphia was in the NL East race for much of 2018, and although it fell short of the playoffs at 80-82, it posted its best record since 2012 and appears to be a team on the rise.
The Phillies acquired shortstop Jean Segura from the Seattle Mariners and signed outfielder Andrew McCutchen this offseason, which suggests they are going for a playoff berth in 2019.
Signing Harper would give the Phils a massive offensive boost and hurt the division-rival Nationals in the process.
The 62-100 White Sox are seemingly much further from contention than the Phillies but have acquired a ton of young talent during their rebuild and could be poised to break out over the next couple of seasons.
Harper would give Chicago the bona fide superstar it currently lacks, and it would also be a big step toward getting the White Sox back to the playoffs for the first time since 2008.
