Bryce Harper turned down an “aggressive offer” from the Nationals last month, according to a report from the Washington Post.
According to Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post, the Nats' offer was roughly $300 million for 10 years, an average annual value of $30 million, with no opt outs.
Nationals’ offer to Bryce Harper was roughly $300 million for 10 years — so an AAV of $30 million — according to multiple people familiar with it. No opt outs.
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) November 7, 2018
Harper was drafted by the Nationals in 2010 and spent the first seven years of his career in Washington. He is now a free agent for the first time in his career - and despite reportedly turning down the deal, could still return to Washington.
According to the Washington Post report, Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said this week at general managers' meetings that the team “took advantage of our exclusivity late in the season” to negotiate with Harper but couldn't reach a deal.
Harper nodded to the drama surrounding his offseason decision with this tweet last month:
Honored to be selected as the #PlayStationAmbassador for #TheShow19 cover! Follow @MLBTheShow this offseason to see what uniform I will be wearing on the final cover! pic.twitter.com/31kf0Yel19
— Bryce Harper (@bryceharper3) November 2, 2018
But his Instagram, at least in the past few weeks, has only been filled with offseason fun - like earlier this week when he surprised his wife, Kayla, with a seranade from The Backstreet Boys.
This article has been updated from a previous publish.
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- Infield: Decisions need to be made this offseason