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Bryce Harper is staying put in Washington through the trade deadline. There is no more speculation, as the Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo made it clear.
“Bryce is not going anywhere,” Rizzo told Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post. “I believe in this team.”
Reports surfaced on Monday that the Nats had let other teams know the Harper was available ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. EDT trade deadline. The Cleveland Indians and Los Angeles Dodgers were among teams that reportedly had contact with Washington about Harper’s availability.
Harper has struggled this season at the plate hitting just .220 but he does have an .842 OPS and 25 home runs. The Nats are 5.5 games back of first place in the NL East, however, the team teams ahead of them both the Philadelphia Phillies and Atlanta Braves are relatively young teams, and the thought process has been Rizzo believes Washington has the talent and experience to catch those two teams in standings.
With focus of making a push down the stretch, re-signing Harper to a long-term deal this winter, as he is set to be a free agent, is next on their priority list. There is doubt outside the organization they can get him to stay, but within the organization there is confidence and a lot of that hinges on how the club finishes the last two months of the season.
