Former National and Phillie Jayson Werth was unsurprised to hear about his former teammate’s decision to sign in Philadelphia, per Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. Werth knows the trek up I-95 well, as he went the opposite direction in the winter before 2011 when he ended a four-year run in Philly by joining a DC club that had drafted Harper the June prior. Werth’s perspective is unique, obviously, because of his relationship to mentee Bryce Harper, but Werth said he and Harper never discussed free agency or Philadelphia, despite speaking a couple of times over the winter. Werth likes the deal for both sides,“You’re getting a young Bryce Harper for his whole career,” says Werth. “You’re going to get him through tons of prime years. Compared with some of the other deals that are out there, it’s fair in the market for both parties. If you’re Bryce, I think you love the years. If you’re Philadelphia, you probably love the price.” Werth fans will appreciate this update from his post-playing days, which is going about as one might expect: he has his hands full with organic farming, snowboarding, and the launching of his own hemp processing business in Illinois. Let’s check in on a couple other Harper notes…
- Reuben Frank of NBC Sports Philadelphia takes a look at the ten free agents in Philly history who made the biggest splash upon signing. Current 76ers GM Elton Brand makes the list, as does Werth’s former teammate Cliff Lee and MLB’s hit king Pete Rose.
- The Nationals bid Harper a fond farewell from their Twitter account in advance of his introduction in Philly. There does not appear to be quite the level of heartbreak one might expect from fans in Washington, perhaps due to Harper’s early flirtations with the Yankees, or the protracted nature of his departure, or the fact that his national fame predates his Nats career. Of course, the suppression of hurt feelings is a time-tested defense mechanism after a breakup, though the development of Juan Soto and Victor Robles certainly helps soften the blow. Harper leaves the Nationals second to only Ryan Zimmerman in many offensive categories since the club moved to Washington, including home runs, walks, runs, RBIs, extra-base hits and total bases. Add in the organization’s history in Montreal and Harper’s .900 OPS ranks second all-time, bested only by Vladimir Guerrero’s .978 OPS with the Expos.
- Harper’s future teammates, meanwhile, are excited about the expectations Harper brings to the club, per MLB.com’s Richard Justice. Already many of the comments from Phillies players like Rhys Hoskins and Andrew McCutchen center on this team’s potential as a World Series contender. “[Harper] wants to be a Phillie for the rest of his career, pretty much. I get goosebumps thinking about it,” says Jake Arrieta, a guy who knows something about what it takes to win a World Series. “I doubt I’ll play for another 13 years, but I would love to be here for 13 years with him.” It’s safe to say Arrieta will need to kick his pilates routine into high gear if he’s to stick around that long, as he will turn 45 in March of the final year of Harper’s deal.
jeffk-2
Ryan Howard 2.0
BlueSkyLA
What are you trying to say here, that Howard wasn’t a three-time all star and big part of the Phillies’ 2009-11 postseason runs that included two World Series appearances and one world championship? Seems to me, a lot of teams would be thrilled to have a Ryan Howard 2.0.
drum18
He looked great against New York in the 2009 Series.
jorge78
He is saying Harper will eventually break down.
BlueSkyLA
Everybody breaks down eventually but if they contribute to championships before then, who’s complaining? The self-appointed bean counters, who are always saying those victories weren’t “worth it” I guess.
JJB
I tend to agree with this. For some people, their favorite team winning a championship can carry them through a lot in their personal life — even if it’s just once.
Considering it to the extreme, as a fan of your team, what type of performance would you be willing to have your team endure if it meant winning the World Series?
BlueSkyLA
It isn’t about carrying anyone through in their personal life, it’s about fan satisfaction, and let’s be honest, fan bragging rights. I’d point to what they’ve done in Boston for the last 15 years. Not on the top of the heap every year but those four world championships in that time has to satisfy even the most rabid hometown fan that their team has a good chance to win the big prize every few years. They’ve had to shrug off some bad contracts to do it so we can see how it can be done.
Rolldogg
Red sox fans are the worst on earth by far !
jd396
It helps having exceptional financial resources, though. Despite the amount of dead money the Bosox have had on the books in recent years, they’ve been able to keep spending. They’ve had a few retooling years but they’re always able to get back into contention quickly.
How about the Royals? They won a WS, but had to sell their entire future for it… Dayton Moore went ahead and tried to use duct tape and zip ties to pull one more attempt out of his team, because the future was that bleak. Was it all worth it for one WS and two pennants? I’m not a natural Royals fan so ultimately I can’t say.
Rolldogg
BlueSkyLa :YUP !
jeffk-2
You will 5 years of decent production if he can stay on the field. At Age 32, you will get 3-4 of average production and by age 35 you will paying his contract for minimal war ie Miguel Cabrera or buy out the last 2-3 years like A Rod. Again this is all with him staying on the field which i spiny he will be able to.
PhanaticDuck26
Jeff–Harper was gonna get in the neighborhood of 300 million. We all knew it. If it wasn’t the Phillies, it would have been another team at a very similar price. So you can sit, whine, and cast negativity on his “bad” contract, but that only proves that you are not understanding a simple market phenomenon.
Ognir200
Bryce’s 13 year contract lowers his annual salary by $4 million in each of the final 3 years.. He will earn $30 million this year ($10 million + $20 million signing bonus), then $26 million annually from 2020 to 2028 and finally $22 million in each of the final 3 seasons.. Not much difference but it isn’t bad.. By 2029 $22 million will likely be an average major league salary. Compare that to Albert Pujols who has a contract that will continue to go up each of the next 3 years. He’ll earn 28, 29 and $30 million at ages 39,40,41..
Swinging Friars
This point is lost on most of the angry posters
Howard brought in a championship ans was a huge success for most of his career. The folks who handed him that last contract knew what they were getting into and gladly extended him
Marketing & championships. It may be hard to quantify in terms of $$ but it certainly can not be denied
BlueSkyLA
Exactly. I’ll never understand why so many fans today are rooting for team profits over team victories. Winning isn’t cost effective but it’s what fans should demand of their hometown team owners. Let them figure out their balance sheets. We as fans should only be invested in the on-field success of our team. That’s what we pay to see.
STL27
I agree 100%, Bluesky
PhanaticDuck26
LA should get a thousand upvotes for this one. It’s such a simple premise but I guess fans prefer to be angry and pessimistic rather than appreciate the game for its lifelong entertainment value.
Rolldogg
Winning IS cost effective !
thefenwayfaithful 2
Lol not at all. The Phillies work this off-season was outstanding. People can say whatever they want but this team is so balanced if their pitching continues to develop. Harper is going to be annoying NL East fans for a long long time. Will be fun to watch.
Rolldogg
MY GOD! A red sox fan with manners ?!? Very rare indeed .
Stolz
The team is not balanced. It doesn’t have solid pitching.
PhanaticDuck26
While the Nats and Mets do have multiple sexy names atop the rotation and the Phils only boast one,…. Ehhhh I don’t know where I’m going with this….maybe something to the effect that I’m probably too optimistic in my expectation that both pivetta and eflin take huge steps forward this year (especially the former).
yukongold
That’s Gary Sanchez
CardsNation5
Sánchez plays in the AL East you nitwit
braveshomer
whoa, you’re so aggressive
Polish Hammer
Howard was too big and lazy to keep playing the field, he should’ve been in the AL as a DH but his contract made him untradeable.
jkurk_22
Honestly, as a Braves fan I feared Howard coming to the plate far more than Harper
adshadbolt1
Howard’s body didn’t break down with constant nagging injuries he had the Achilles tear and never really recovered from that
brown trout fisherman
Not your money
Isthisserious
What’s the over/under Harper articles being published within the next two days?
JJB
Depends on the over/under of clicks and comments left on said Harper articles that are published.
Isthisserious
It’s going to be a long day.
bjsguess
Makes perfect sense.
— Both play 1B
— Both broke into the majors at 19
— Both were regarded as phenoms at 16 gracing the cover of SI
— Both were #1 draft picks
— Both signed a FA contract at 26
— Both accumulated 30fWAR by 26
— Both share a similar body type which leads to identical performance in the basepaths and playing defense
— Both exhibited tremendous patience at the plate, routinely walking 20% of the time
I could go on.
Only the shallowest analysis would see comparisons between the two situations. Outside of both guys having big power and signing $25m AAV deals they are nothing alike.
davidcoonce74
Wait, are you saying Harper and Howard have a similar body tyoe?
Cat Mando
Insert the words “do not”, did not”, “have not” or “were not” after the word “Both” to get his meaning.
Begamin
He is being sarcastic with the list
cpdpoet
Thank you for taking the time to verbalize what my mental profanity was saying towards that uninformed poster…..
GrandpaBaseball
But only one used steroids and cheated against other MLB players.
Polish Hammer
You’re alleging Howard used steroids?
brown trout fisherman
Howard never used.
Polish Hammer
We don’t know that, but it’s never really been alleged either. Quite frankly nobody is above suspicion.
mjctrack
16
njbirdsfan
Nice to see Werth has kept up the douchiness in retirement.
todd76
Xabial is loving the Phillies Bryce Harper posts.
advplee
can we please stop seeing articles about Bryce Harper? We don’t need a new article about the fact that Harper has signed every third article. Just shut up about it already.
VinScullysSon
When you get a newspaper does it only contain articles that you’re interested in? I will never understand the inability of some people to just ignore what they’re not interested in.
canocorn
Think you’ve got it bad?
Try marrying one.
Cat Mando
Been there, done that, bought the noose…ummmm…I mean shirt.
Polish Hammer
It’s very simple, don’t click on 5he articles you don’t want to read…
Swinging Friars
But what if I really like complaining?
acarneglia
Long live Jayson sweetheart
johnrealtime
Organic farming and hemp processing? That beards make total sense now in retrospect.
I kid, seems like a good guy
canocorn
At least he’s not investing in South African Cattle Prods, Bullets for Bedouins or some such.
Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson invested in Salmon Farming long before it became fashionable.
Nothing fishy about that.
johnrealtime
Jason Werth is doing what I would be doing if I were wealthy and retired, minus the snowboarding and Illinois (I currently live in Illinois)
snuffbuff
Harper will make players around him much better. I’ve got money on this HOSKINS will hit 40 plus homers this year and over 100 RBI’S.
number1dodger
If anything players will back off and let Harper take over. That’s what is getting paid to do. You watch a decline in production from the other players.
proof2006
That makes absolutely no sense.
KnicksFanCavsFan
If this was almost any other team sport you MIGHT come close to making sense but since baseball is more of an individual sport you make NO sense at all. Harper can have a 1.200 OPS or a .600 ops but it’ll have no influence on how passive or aggressive other players are in terms of the effort and enthusiasm they show while doing their individual jobs.
Rolldogg
What U say makes me think, you have never been on a team !
neverender82
Who cares if he was? Just because you believe in magical intangible juju doesn’t mean anyone else has to. And I’m sure you saw plenty of it in tee ball.
Swinging Friars
Protection
Harper will take most of the pitcher’s attention allowing other guys to see hittable pitches. The guys directly in front of him and behind will see more fastballs. With less stress (the other guys) the game will be a little easier for them. Pretty much a recipe for success
Rolldogg
another paper player doesn’t understand the team concept
KnicksFanCavsFan
i have been on many teams and never has the excellence or failure of another made mngr change my game in terms of intensity.
in basketball one player CAN effect the others especially if it’s a ball dominant player.
in baseball, a hitter is in that box battling the pitcher. how hard he tries has little to with any other hitter.
Polish Hammer
And how he’s pitched has everything to do with the batters before and after him in the lineup.
Rolldogg
Intangibles in baseball mean more than most people think . Attitude can be the difference ! Champions feel love all around.
Rolldogg
You make no sense, look at your knicks and cavs !
jdgoat
That would be a terrible mindset
tharrie0820
Harper makes the players around him better? Then why did the Nats underachieve every year he was with them?
Sirsleepit
You’ve got the wrong Pete rose linked my man 🙂
snuffbuff
Harper will make all players around him better esp HOSKINS. Hoskins 40 plus homers and over 100 RBI’s. Got money on these predictions.
nats3256
you have said this twice in 3 and a half minutes….
snuffbuff
Must be a NATS fan and btw they can’t win the big game biggest bunch of chokers in the last 5 years. Lmao
advplee
and Harper was a big part of that. Watch the Phillies choke just like the Nats did.
woozles
….given that the poster’s name starts with “nats”. Wow, you’re a real sleuth!
Gwynning's Anal Lover
Who are they putting on waivers, or did they have a spot open?
cvarneski
“Organic farming” lol
Scrap1ron
No one can say that the Phillies aren’t trying or investing in their payroll to win.
cscd1111
Werth has a pot farm, who would have thought.
bobtillman
With his contacts in the industry, he’s going to make more money farming than he ever has…….
jorge78
Hemp is not pot…..
Rolldogg
Is so. The plant is the same, just low (or no)THC content in “hemp” compared to “pot”.
Swinging Friars
You are correct sir. Not sure that the feds see it the same though…. I’m not positive, but I believe Hemp is not on the controlled substance list
Rolldogg
Check-out his ALWAYS crazy eyes !
Rolldogg
I would / did !
Happy2Engage
Why are the Nats fans so salty. Had he come back you be kissing his (censored).
cpdpoet
Yeah weird? Ownership planned for this w/ the Eaton trade. Now after Soto’s breakout, Robles healthy and Michael Taylor as the 4th…what’s the problem?
Swinging Friars
Breakups hurt. Even when it’s the crazy ones who caused nothing but heartache and pain (not that Harper fits, just an extreme example)
Agreed, that outfield might even be a little better post Harper. Those kids look legit!
natswin2019
The Nats have had 9 years to plan if they wanted to sign Harper and they decided he wasn’t worth the money. The Nat’s can and have been willing to spend with any team in baseball.The Nats offered 10 years $300M with close to $100m deferred at the end of 2018 knowing he wouldn’t accept it.
The Phil’s get something to be excited about for sure but they will soon find out that his notoriety is greater than his talent. The Phil’s fans will have a great time booing this me-first player.
Offseason poll had Nat’s fans overwhelmingly against resigning Harper.
No sour grapes, just a fact. Nobody’s crying in DC.
Polish Hammer
Certainly is sour grapes…
Rolldogg
SURE IS ! grapes.
chri
Philly may be the best team in the division now (id say they win about 92 games next year), they’re far from unbeatable. Their rotation is Nola and then a bunch of back end guys.
Also, the Mets, Braves, and Nationals are all probably going to finish all over .500, and could each realistically win the division. I’m guessing the 1st and 4th place team in the NL East will finish within a dozen games of each other.
jimbenwal
Good thing they aren’t in the AL east. 92w would leave them in 3rd-4th place.
BlueSkyLA
Hate to break it to you but according to Baseball Prospectus, 92 wins would be enough for 2nd place in the ALE. They also have the Phillies handicapped at 89 wins, tied for first with the Nationals.
KnicksFanCavsFan
“hate to break it to you”. dude live in the real world. You think bp predicted the yankees and the sox would both win 100+ games? you think they predicted the A’s and Rays ….to both win 90+ games. to think that fans should be happy or disappointed according to a 162 game season outcome prediction …in the month of march is a waste of energy and emotions.
unless your the Marlins… pirates… or tigers… oh yeah…. Orioles too.
BlueSkyLA
Dude, that’s the only forecast we’ve got right now. It is what it is, a statical projection based on current rosters.
KnicksFanCavsFan
and it means nothing. to take that forecast and tell a fan to not be optimistic is silly. they got almost all the projections wrong last year.
BlueSkyLA
It means what it means. All that can be evaluated now is the rosters in place now. Nobody can say what will happen to a team during the year in terms of injuries and players added and of course the variability that is expected because it’s a projection, not a magic formula.
Nobody except maybe you is telling any fan to not be “optimistic.” That isn’t the point at all. The point is the ALE might not be quite so almighty as you’ve suggested.
Netflix&RichHill
Pivetta and Arrieta aren’t back end guys though Arrieta is quickly trending down. Even Eflin, Velasquez, and Eickhoff are not far from taking a step forward. The Nats are still the best team in that division, but the true talent level separating every team in the east except the Marlins is not large and teams will beat up on each other. Because of that I totally agree with you on the 12 games max separating 1st and 4th place.
Swinging Friars
The haters gonna hate
Padres get the same garbage…. Philly has a ton of young talent coming up to pitch. The guys who came up last year impressed some and should continue to imrove
This team is going to be fun to watch!
Rolldogg
YUP !
natswin2019
“”Pivetta and Arrieta aren’t back end guys….””
Last year Arrieta 3.96 ERA and Pivetta 4.77 ERA.
Last 2 years total Arrieta 3.75 ERA and Pivetta 5.33 ERA
The only way you can say 3.96 and 4.77 ERAs aren’t back end guys is if you say they are minor leaguers.
natswin2019
“‘Phillies may be the best team in the division now…””
Apparently Phil’s GM doesn’t know that in the last 7 years, 30 of the 35 teams that made the playoffs in the National League finished in the top 5 of team ERA. (Colorado made it twice and isn’t likely to be a top 5 ERA team)
Phil’s counting on the same rotation that finished 11th in the NL in team ERA last year to lead them to the playoffs?
If I was a Phillie’s fan I would be concerned with this GM running things:
Overpaying for offense and basically ignoring the pitching staff is not a recipe for success,
Santana 3 yrs/60$M, McCutchen 3 yrs/$51M, 13 years for anybody?
Over the hill Arrietta 3 yrs/$75M?
Trading their future for Segura and 2 years of Realmuto?
Phillie’s comeback is Fake News. 4th place until Miami gets it together.
Rolldogg
Yo! 11th in the majors ain’t that bad, just sayin.
Newspeaks
“Harpers .900 OPS ranks second only to Vlad Guerros .978 while with the Expos.”
The best sentence in this article. Shows how much of a stud Vlad was. He should have went into the HOF as an Expo.
VIVA LOS EXPOS!
Rolldogg
Vladdie was a BASEBALL PLAYER !
Swinging Friars
Can’t wait to see what his kid can do
That was fun watching a pitch that looked destined for the backstop get scooped up for gapper!
goldenmisfit
This deal was good for both sides only because the lower annual salary makes Harper very movable in five years and no matter what happens or where Harper agrees to get traded to he will always have that monster 13 year contract. I’m hauling this right now by the end of the fifth year he will end up being traded to either the Yankees or the Dodgers.
Swinging Friars
5 years will be in the middle of their peak. No way they’re trading him. The lower AAV gives them a chance to add around him if they start to slow down
Z-A 2
Incomplete offseason until they get a LHP in the rotation, gotta do it before the season via Kooch or trade for Robbie Ray. MadBum is an all time all timer but the best SF pitchers breakdown and fall off a cliff by 28 (Lincecum, Cain, Zito even tho he got there at 29 was terrible).
Rolldogg
Barry Zito was not terrible for the Giants.
Juicemane 2019
Matt Klentak is a narcissistic maniac…that 5 minute speech before Bryce put on his jersey.
Lol, like it took so much work to offer the most money
CoolKidJoeXBL
The father of Chase Utley’s kids giving some great advice.
Z-A 2
What?
Rolldogg
What does that mean ?
kylelohse
Werth reportedly nailed Utley’s wife.
Polish Hammer
Leave it to the Philly faithful to come up with these stories, used to be Lindros and Rod Brindamour, now who will it be on the Eagles or Sixers?
Rolldogg
That was said to Cole Hamels wife! Chase was unmarried at the time. Gossip is always wrong on all accounts !
Papabueno
Count this Nats fan as one that’s happy he’s gone. It’s not he helped the team win a playoff series. He’s too inconsistent to justify that contract. I have a feeling fans in Philly will be hating this deal in a few years.
Polish Hammer
Kind of like Werth in DC? Sour grapes…
GrandpaBaseball
I believe that Harper is going to improve as he matures and gets used to the Park, Clubhouse, Teammates and the Fans. He has the potentcial to be an almost Mike Trout. Phillies are one pitcher away from greatness.
Rolldogg
Im A Grandpop too, Phillies fan since 5years old. I’ve witnessed the frequent bad seasons and suffered- BUT Loved the good ones with as much passion. I continually complained (before the internet !) to anyone listening about the ownership making big bucks [every year] with a cheap product [inferior teams]. The owners were not baseball fans. Fielding a Champion wasn’t too much a consideration. $ Profit at the suffering,$ PAYING, fan$ expense was the norm. Thank You Mr Middleton for acting like a real Phillies fan. I am sure you’ll find that your “stupid money” was very smart! I know, Remember all those soldout games in a row ? I was at quite a few, Here we go !.
reflect
Wait when the hell did Arrieta end up on the Phillies
getright11
Are u kidding?
Rolldogg
NO he ain’t KIDDIN’ kid !
nl east focus
Harper being compared to Trout is rose colored glasses. Not even close! Phillies fans will boo him regularly and he will not like it. He is a really good player but not close to Betts or Trout. I wish Braves ownership would spend some money but thankfully they didn’t on Harper.
Rolldogg
What do you know sonny !?!
hothothotinc
Harper can’t hit off speed pitching when his head is on cloud 9.
gmenfan
The story that just won’t die …