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Bryce Harper is believed to remain with the Washington Nationals through Tuesday’s non-waiver trade deadline. According to Jon Heyman of FanCred, rival teams believe there’s “almost no chance” the Nats will trade Harper and they still aspire of signing the young star to a long-term deal.
Rivals believe thereās almost no chance nats will market/trade Bryce Harper in 28-hour window that exists. 1. They want to sign him long-term. 2. They are within striking distance of 2 young teams. 3. They have team mostly back together (except Strasburg).
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 30, 2018
Washington enters Tuesday six games back of first place in the National League East with 57 games remaining. They have nine games remaining against the first-place Philadelphia Phillies with a roster that is getting healthy soon. It’s a roster that on paper is the best in the division and arguably the entire National League. So, one cannot fault general manager Mike Rizzo fighting any logic to move Harper or sell integral pieces. A lot can happen in the final two months of the season.
However, a bold move would also mean the Nationals believe they have a fighting chance to re-sign the six-time All-Star. Can the Nationals afford $400 million is the question? And it’s hard to believe Harper walking away from the Nationals if the club was willing to give anything remotely close to that asking price unless he grows unhappy with the decisions the front office has done in building the team.
Following Saturday’s loss, Harper seemed to throw some shade at the Nats front office for not already having J.T. Realmuto of the Miami Marlins on the roster. It was Realmuto who hit a walk-off RBI-single. Even still, Rizzo has a track record of building great teams and the Nationals are still in a good position to compete beyond even if this season doesn’t go as plan. They have a solid crop of young talent in their farm, who honestly have higher ceilings than some of the big-name veterans that are on the market in free agency and trade that have been linked to the Nats in recent years.
While the Nationals will be concentrating on making their push down the stretch for the playoffs, there will be a lingering cloud hovering the organization about Harper’s future with the club. The Nats are betting on themselves to make the postseason this year and retain Harper in the upcoming winter. It’s a bold move that the Nationals hope they won’t regret in hindsight.
