That next offseason, however, the Dodgers were willing to adjust their strategy after losing in the NL Division Series, offering starting pitcher Gerrit Cole an eight-year, $300-million deal with deferrals. Harper didn’t nudge them in a new direction. The Dodgers to that point hadn’t signed a free agent to a contract longer than four years under Friedman. Days later, Harper signed a 13-year, $330-million deal with the Phillies, who beat the San Francisco Giants’ long-term contract offer. But Harper sought a long-term contract because he sought a long-term home. The $45-million annual average value would have set the Major League Baseball record. The Dodgers offered Harper a four-year, $180-million contract, according to people with knowledge of the situation. He was, somehow, living up to the dizzying hype that followed him from high school to his major league debut as a 19-year-old wunderkind at Dodger Stadium in 2012. He had a knack for big moments, supplying two significant home runs in his postseason career and winning the home run derby at his home stadium, Nationals Park, in 2018. Harper was a one-time MVP and six-time All-Star in seven seasons with the Washington Nationals. The group included Dodgers majority owner Mark Walter, president Stan Kasten, president of baseball operations Andrew Friedman and manager Dave Roberts. In February 2019, with Harper inexplicably still on the free-agent market after players reported for spring training, a contingent of Dodgers officials traveled to Las Vegas, Harper’s hometown, to meet with the outfielder. He’s a member of the Dodgers, nearing the end of a four-year contract before hitting free agency again this winter for another huge payday. In an alternate universe, one where this city would be still thirsting for a World Series appearance, the 30-year-old Harper isn’t Philadelphia’s favorite transplant.
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