WASHINGTON šC If there were doubts about whether All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper would return to the Washington Nationals, team owner Mark Lerner on Friday didn¡¯t give fans any reason to be optimistic.
¡°I really don¡¯t expect him to come back at this point,¡± Lerner said on 106.7 The Fan, making his first substantial comments on the matter. ¡°I think they¡¯ve (Harper and agent Scott Boras) decided to move on. There¡¯s just too much money out there that he¡¯d be leaving on the table. That¡¯s just not Mr. Boras¡¯ M.O. to leave money on the table.¡±
In September, Harper reportedly rejected a 10-year contract from the Nationals worth around $300 million.
¡°When we met with them and we gave them the offer, we told them, ¡®This is the best we can do.¡¯ We went right to the finish line very quickly,¡± Lerner added. ¡°And we said, ¡®If this is of interest to you, please come back to us and we¡¯ll see whether we can finish it up.¡¯ But we just couldn¡¯t afford to put more than that in and still be able to put a team together that had a chance to win the (National League) East or go farther than that.¡±
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