WASHINGTON (AP)
Just like last year, the Washington Nationals and agent Scott Boras agreed to a contract for baseball's top draft pick with just a few seconds to spare.
Bryce Harper and the Nationals settled on a $9.9 million, five-year contract just before Monday's midnight deadline, one of 14 first-round selections to sign on the final day.
Harper, a 17-year-old power-hitting catcher from College of Southern Nevada, was the first junior-college player taken with the top overall pick. He gets a $6.25 million signing bonus in five equal payments of $1.25 million: 30 days after approval and each July 1 from 2011 through 2014.
Harper receives salaries of $500,000 each in 2011 and 2012, $750,000 in 2013, $900,000 in 2014 and $1 million in 2015. He can earn $500,000 more a year in bonuses for time on the active major league roster in each of the final two seasons.
"Suffice it to say, both sides gave up ground at the last second to get the deal done," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Harper's deal is a record for a non-pitcher signed out of the draft who had not become a free agent.
Current New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira set the previous record for a major-league deal for a position player, getting a $9.5 million, four-year deal from the Texas Rangers in 2001 in another Boras deal.
"Essentially, it was discussion of a lot of variables because of the power of the player, the age of the player, what position players have been historically paid in the draft," Boras said in a telephone interview.
"With a player of this level of skill and talent," he added, "there's not really any comparables."
Harper hit .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBIs in his first season at the College of Southern Nevada, which plays in a league that uses wood bats. He skipped his final two years of high school and got his GED, making him eligible for the 2010 amateur draft.
''It gives us another impact player in the system,'' Rizzo said. ''He's a guy who could possibly be a cornerstone in our lineup in the very near future.''
Last year, Boras and the Nationals agreed to a $15.1 million, four-year deal for top pick Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals owned the No. 1 picks in 2009 and 2010 because they finished the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the worst records in the majors.
Strasburg's contract was the highest for any player out of the draft, and the right-handed pitcher made his big league debut June 8, the day after Harper was picked.
Rizzo said he hoped to have Harper come to Washington during the Nationals' next homestand, which begins next Monday, and that he wants the player to report to the franchise's rookie-level Gulf Coast League team in Florida ''as soon as possible.''
Earlier Monday, the Nationals announced they came to terms with second-round choice Sammy Solis, a left-handed pitcher from the University of San Diego, and fourth-round pick A.J. Cole, a right-handed high school pitcher.
Boras had a busy final day as well. Shortstop Manny Machado, the No. 3 selection, received a $5.25 million bonus from Baltimore; the Mets agreed with right-hander Matt Harvey, the No. 7 selection, at $2,525,000; and outfielder Gary Brown, picked 24th, agreed with San Francisco at $1.45 million.
Three right-handed pitchers selected in the first round this year failed to sign: No. 6 Barret Loux with Arizona, No. 9 Karsten Whitson with San Diego and No. 14 Dylan Covey with Milwaukee.
Just like last year, the Washington Nationals and agent Scott Boras agreed to a contract for baseball's top draft pick with just a few seconds to spare.
Bryce Harper and the Nationals settled on a $9.9 million, five-year contract just before Monday's midnight deadline, one of 14 first-round selections to sign on the final day.
Harper, a 17-year-old power-hitting catcher from College of Southern Nevada, was the first junior-college player taken with the top overall pick. He gets a $6.25 million signing bonus in five equal payments of $1.25 million: 30 days after approval and each July 1 from 2011 through 2014.
Harper receives salaries of $500,000 each in 2011 and 2012, $750,000 in 2013, $900,000 in 2014 and $1 million in 2015. He can earn $500,000 more a year in bonuses for time on the active major league roster in each of the final two seasons.
"Suffice it to say, both sides gave up ground at the last second to get the deal done," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said.
Harper's deal is a record for a non-pitcher signed out of the draft who had not become a free agent.
Current New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira set the previous record for a major-league deal for a position player, getting a $9.5 million, four-year deal from the Texas Rangers in 2001 in another Boras deal.
"Essentially, it was discussion of a lot of variables because of the power of the player, the age of the player, what position players have been historically paid in the draft," Boras said in a telephone interview.
"With a player of this level of skill and talent," he added, "there's not really any comparables."
Harper hit .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBIs in his first season at the College of Southern Nevada, which plays in a league that uses wood bats. He skipped his final two years of high school and got his GED, making him eligible for the 2010 amateur draft.
''It gives us another impact player in the system,'' Rizzo said. ''He's a guy who could possibly be a cornerstone in our lineup in the very near future.''
Last year, Boras and the Nationals agreed to a $15.1 million, four-year deal for top pick Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals owned the No. 1 picks in 2009 and 2010 because they finished the 2008 and 2009 seasons with the worst records in the majors.
Strasburg's contract was the highest for any player out of the draft, and the right-handed pitcher made his big league debut June 8, the day after Harper was picked.
Rizzo said he hoped to have Harper come to Washington during the Nationals' next homestand, which begins next Monday, and that he wants the player to report to the franchise's rookie-level Gulf Coast League team in Florida ''as soon as possible.''
Earlier Monday, the Nationals announced they came to terms with second-round choice Sammy Solis, a left-handed pitcher from the University of San Diego, and fourth-round pick A.J. Cole, a right-handed high school pitcher.
Boras had a busy final day as well. Shortstop Manny Machado, the No. 3 selection, received a $5.25 million bonus from Baltimore; the Mets agreed with right-hander Matt Harvey, the No. 7 selection, at $2,525,000; and outfielder Gary Brown, picked 24th, agreed with San Francisco at $1.45 million.
Three right-handed pitchers selected in the first round this year failed to sign: No. 6 Barret Loux with Arizona, No. 9 Karsten Whitson with San Diego and No. 14 Dylan Covey with Milwaukee.
