Harper eager to put down roots with Phillies

Star outfielder Bryce Harper officially signed a 13-year deal with the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday and acknowledged the obvious, that the length of his megadeal allows him to get settled in his new city for a good, long time. "I wanted to be able to dig my roots somewhere," Harper said at his introductory press conference.

"Through the ups and downs of the team and the organization. It's going to be tough for our team to win every single year, I understand that. Even through the bumps and bruises, the goods and the bads, I want to be a part of that." The contract is reportedly worth $330 million, the largest guaranteed deal in North American professional sports.

Harper, 26, is a six-time All-Star who was pursued to the end by the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers. The 2015 MVP with the Washington Nationals, Harper has hit 184 home runs with 521 RBIs over 927 games, with a .279 career batting average. "This process has been a long one, but it's been a lot of fun as well," Harper said.

"It's good to feel wanted by the Phillies organization and the fan base. I love my family very much, and Philly is going to be part of that family for a long time. I wanted to be somewhere for a long period of time, and I wanted to finish my career somewhere." Harper reportedly rejected a $300 million offer to stay in Washington and instead entered a turbulent free-agent market. But while his deal did not come until teams already had started to play spring training games, Harper still landed the major contract he was seeking.

The Harper deal came more than a week after Manny Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres. According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, Harper's deal will not have an opt-out clause, per the player's request. It will include a full no-trade clause, which Harper could waive.

Harper's annual average deal is $25.38 million, or about $4.5 million less than Machado's contract. "What he's accomplished in his career at such a young age is truly remarkable," Phillies general manager Matt Klentak said Saturday, via MLB.com.

"We had some ups and downs in this process, but the commitment to reaching a deal for both parties was evident throughout. In almost all of our discussions with Bryce and (Harper's wife) Kayla, the conversation has been focused on family. Bryce, I'm pretty sure you just joined the most family-oriented organization in the major leagues." Harper's 14 home runs at Citizens Bank Park are his most in any stadium other than Nationals Park. He has a .564 slugging percentage at Philadelphia, and a .930 OPS in 50 games.

Harper was the No. 1 overall selection in the 2010 draft and made his major league debut less than two years later with the Nationals. He hit 22 home runs and batted .270 in that first season to win the National League Rookie of the Year Award. During his MVP season of 2015, Harper led the National League in runs scored (118), home runs (42), on-base percentage (.460), slugging percentage (.649) and OPS (1.109). He led the National League with 130 walks last season, while hitting 34 home runs and collecting a career-best 100 RBIs.

But while the Nationals advanced to the playoffs in four of Harper's first six seasons, they did not reach the postseason last year, finishing a disappointing 82-80, while ending the season eight games back in the National League East. In going to Philadelphia, Harper joins a club that has not reached the postseason since 2011, although their 80-82 record last season showed the Phillies to be a team on the rise. The club's .494 winning percentage was its best since it finished .500 in 2012.

And Harper even hinted Saturday that the lower per-year average on his deal just might be enough to create the finances to add Mike Trout into the fold when he becomes a free agent after the 2020 season. "I'm making $26 (million) a year, something like that, so I think that's going to be able to bring in some other guys as well to help this organization win," Harper said. "I know there is another guy that in about two years comes off the books, so we will see what happens with that."

--Field Level Media