Padres News: Bryce Harper Reveals Why He Didn't Want a Similar Contract to Manny Machado
Despite Padres star third baseman Manny Machado insisting that he solely wanted to focus on baseball following the Padres not agreeing to his preferred extension by his deadline, most of the talks surrounding San Diego's squad were questioning his future there. Other teams, including some rivals, surfaced as favorites to pry away the NL MVP favorite after he shared initial plans to opt out in the offseason.
Machado ended up receiving his dream deal after all and will remain a Padre for the rest of his career. One other elite player that was paying close attention as these talks unraveled was Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper. He signed a 13-year, $330 million contract back in 2019 but his deal did not include an option for him to become a free agent after a select amount of years like Machado's original deal did.
Harper spoke to Todd Zolecki of the MLB Network during Spring Training and explained his mindset when he was in negations with the Phillies front office.
"I made the decision to stay with the team for a long time," said Harper. "If you know, Manny didn't use his opt-out. They kind of extended him at the same time. I think being able to stay with an organization for a long time, let the fans know that I was going to be here for a long time, that was my main thing."
Harper didn’t want the temptation of more money and a longer contract to interfere with his goals for the team. His ultimate priority is to win championships and the seven-time All-Star didn’t want the city of Philadelphia to speculate if he was committed to them or would look elsewhere.
Both star players took different routes but in the end, they received the contracts they were looking for. Machado and Harper are two of the best players in the MLB representing two of the biggest baseball cities in America, no criticisms for them here.
