Nationals' owners vetoed Bryce Harper's trade in Houston on schedule

As MLB's 2018 transaction deadline approached, all eyes were on the Washington Nationals, the swinging franchise between sales and purchase. Superstar player Bryce Harper's contract was up at the end of the year and many teams would have been pleased to bid on him for a playoff series. Instead, the team made no major steps back and forth.

A few hours before the deadline, Washington general manager Mike Rizzo contacted the writer Chelsea Janes of the National Post, Chelsea Janes, to announce that Harper was not available to them. other clubs. Rizzo insisted that he believed in his team.

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Except that now we learn that it was not not exactly the case, in a new room Ken Rosenthal of the athlete One day before Rizzo's declaration that the Nationals were firm, Washington signed an agreement to send Harper to the Houston Astros to create a set of prospects that would have helped rebuild the Nats agricultural system. When the time came for Rizzo to obtain permission to approve the trading of its franchised actor, the Washington property gave way and the deal finally failed. " piece of Ken Rosenthal of the athlete One day before Rizzo's declaration that the Nationals were firm, Washington signed an agreement to send Harper to the Houston Astros to create a set of prospects that would have helped rebuild the Nats agricultural system. When the time came for Rizzo to obtain the necessary approval to negotiate its franchised actor, the Washington property ceded and the case effectively gave way.

<p class = "canvas-atom web-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "The agreement, according to Rosenthal, would have prospects sent J.B. Bukauskas, and perhaps receiver Garrett Stubbs, as well as two other minor leagues from the Nationals for Harper. Bukauskas and Stubbs represent two of the top 15 hopes of Astros. The Nationals will only receive a fourth round pick in 2019 in lieu of compensation if Harper signs with another team this season off as a free agent. "data-reactid =" 27 "> The operation, according to Rosenthal, would have sent prospects J.B. Bukauskas, and perhaps receiver Garrett Stubbs, as well as two other minor leagues from the Nationals for Harper. Bukauskas and Stubbs represent two of the top 15 hopes of Astros. The Nationals will only receive a fourth round pick in 2019 in lieu of compensation if Harper signs with another team this season off as a free agent.

Harper refused a $ 300 million bid over 10 years to stay in Washington at the end of the season. A return to the Championships seems unlikely.

It is important to take all this with a big grain of salt. Contracts between general managers are frequently discussed and there are many good reasons why they never go beyond exploratory phone calls. In the case of Harper, it would not have been possible to reach an agreement without the signature of the property, and it is difficult to say why the national hierarchy thought that this decision was not the right one.

However, it is also difficult to keep an open mind about such an agreement, with the benefit of hindsight. This shows that Rizzo was accepting offers for Harper and that it was becoming serious enough to be passed on to his bosses. After declaring "I believe in this team", the Nats dropped even further in the standings and eventually brought Daniel Murphy and Brandon Kintzler to the Chicago Cubs, Gio Gonzalez to the Milwaukee Brewers, Ryan Madson to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Shawn Kelley at the Oakland Athletics.

If the Nationals had chosen to sell earlier, maybe Harper would have been more than enough to convince the property to trade it.

At 26, Harper could be awarded a contract worth nearly $ 400 million in free agency. The Nationals, meanwhile, are looking for a way forward after six years with one of the best baseball players who leaves them only four appearances in the playoffs, none going further than the first round.

– – – – – –

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Send him an email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee"data-reactid =" 34 ">Blake Schuster is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Send him an email at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Schustee

<p class = "canvas-atom canvas-text Mb (1.0em) Mb (0) – sm Mt (0.8em) – sm" type = "text" content = "More from Yahoo Sports:
• Who deserves to win the Rookie of the Year award in Newfoundland and Labrador?
• Fantastic 10th week running standings
• Wetzel: If it's the case for Dez, he deserved better
• The twin Mauer withdraws after 15 seasons
"data-reactid =" 35 ">More from Yahoo Sports:
• Who deserves to win the Rookie of the Year award in Newfoundland and Labrador?
• Fantastic 10th week running standings
• Wetzel: If it's the case for Dez, he deserved better
• The twin Mauer withdraws after 15 seasons