Colorado Rockies: Bryce Harper's contract precedent for Nolan Arenado?

Earlier this week, according to multiple sources, six-time All Star Bryce Harper rejected an offer of 10 years and approximately $300 million deal from the Washington Nationals late last season.

This revelation raised some eyebrows considering the length and price tag that was turned down and the sub-standard numbers Harper put up in 2018. It also raised many eyebrows in Denver as the Colorado Rockies‘ six-time All-Star Nolan Arenado will be eligible to enter free agency after next season if the two parties are unable to work out a deal.

The now 26-year-old Harper has been the face of the Nationals’ franchise, if not the National League, since he broke into the league in 2012. His young age, his career numbers, and market ability, to go along with Scott Boras being his agent, should bring him a possible historic payday.

Harper has been one of the most feared hitters the last few years with a career slash line of .279/.388/.512 and decided to play out his contract and test out the open market instead of signing an extension. That gamble may not have paid off as well as he thought it would as he had one of his worst seasons as a professional.

Harper’s Stats by Season
Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2012	WSN	139	597	533	98	144	26	9	22	59	18	6	56	120	.270	.340	.477	.817	118	254	8	2	3	3	0
2013	WSN	118	497	424	71	116	24	3	20	58	11	4	61	94	.274	.368	.486	.854	133	206	4	5	3	4	4
2014	WSN	100	395	352	41	96	10	2	13	32	2	2	38	104	.273	.344	.423	.768	111	149	6	1	3	1	4
2015	WSN	153	654	521	118	172	38	1	42	99	6	4	124	131	.330	.460	.649	1.109	198	338	15	5	0	4	15
2016	WSN	147	627	506	84	123	24	2	24	86	21	10	108	117	.243	.373	.441	.814	114	223	11	3	0	10	20
2017	WSN	111	492	420	95	134	27	1	29	87	4	2	68	99	.319	.413	.595	1.008	156	250	15	1	0	3	11
2018	WSN	159	695	550	103	137	34	0	34	100	13	3	130	169	.249	.393	.496	.889	133	273	7	6	0	9	16
7 Yr	7 Yr	927	3957	3306	610	922	183	18	184	521	75	31	585	834	.279	.388	.512	.900	139	1693	66	23	9	34	70
162	162	162	692	578	107	161	32	3	32	91	13	5	102	146	.279	.388	.512	.900	139	296	12	4	2	6	12

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

The 27-year-old Nolan Arenado will be keeping a close eye on how Harper’s free agency plays out. The face of the Rockies’ franchise actually has better career numbers than Harper in one less year of service. He is also the better defender of the two after winning his sixth consecutive Gold Glove this past weekend. If Harper doesn’t receive as lucrative contract as he had hoped, will Arenado want to risk having a down year before entering free agency?

Arenado’s Stats by Season
Year	Tm	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	OPS+	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB
2013	COL	133	514	486	49	130	29	4	10	52	2	0	23	72	.267	.301	.405	.706	81	197	16	1	2	2	1
2014	COL	111	467	432	58	124	34	2	18	61	2	1	25	58	.287	.328	.500	.828	115	216	13	4	1	5	1
2015	COL	157	665	616	97	177	43	4	42	130	2	5	34	110	.287	.323	.575	.898	124	354	17	4	0	11	13
2016	COL	160	696	618	116	182	35	6	41	133	2	3	68	103	.294	.362	.570	.932	129	352	17	2	0	8	10
2017	COL	159	680	606	100	187	43	7	37	130	3	2	62	106	.309	.373	.586	.959	130	355	21	4	1	6	9
2018	COL	156	673	590	104	175	38	2	38	110	2	2	73	122	.297	.374	.561	.935	133	331	16	3	1	6	10
6 Yr	6 Yr	876	3695	3348	524	975	222	25	186	616	13	13	285	571	.291	.346	.539	.886	121	1805	100	18	5	38	44
162	162	162	683	619	97	180	41	5	34	114	2	2	53	106	.291	.346	.539	.886	121	334	18	3	1	7	8

Provided by Baseball-Reference.com: View Original Table

Along with Harper, Arenado and the Rockies will be closely monitoring free agent Manny Machado. If both of these two sign contracts over $30 million a year, the Rockies may be forced to begin looking for other options as the payroll to may not be large enough to meet Arenado’s asking price.

Next. Rumors say the Rockies are interested in this Houston Astros player. dark

So stay tuned as these contract talks develop in the coming months as they could have huge ramifications for Arenado’s future with the Rockies.

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Colorado Rockies: Bryce Harper’s contract precedent for Nolan Arenado?

By Aaron Hurt | Nov 8, 2018

Earlier this week, according to multiple sources, six-time All Star Bryce Harper rejected an offer of 10 years and approximately $300 million deal from the Washington Nationals late last season.