MLB: New York Yankees to Pursue Bryce Harper in 2018?
All Major League Baseball teams have handed out contracts to free agents this offseason with the exception of the New York Yankees, per MLBTR. The 27-time World Series champions, who are worth billions, did not spend a single dollar to free agents this season, which fueled rumors of the team preparing for one big name in 2018.
According to Yahoo! Sports, the Yankees might be saving their money to bring 2015 NL MVP Bryce Harper to the Bronx. Harper headlines the list of potential free agents to come in 2018 that may also include Clayton Kershaw, Josh Donaldson, Manny Machado, Andrew McCutchen, Matt Harvey, Jose Fernandez, Dallas Keuchel and Adam Jones.
But why is Harper the cream of the crop of this free agent class? He will only be 26 years old when he hits free agency in 2018 and the Yankees are well in position and prepared to sign him to a huge and historic contract.
The 23-year-old had a very unforgettable season when he hit 42 home runs and 99 RBIs with a batting average of .330. He also had the most runs scored and best OBP, SLG and OBP in the National League in 2015, per Baseball Reference.
Yahoo! Sports added that despite the Yankees having the second biggest payroll this season behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Yankees are poised to have a lot of money at the end of 2016 season entering 2017. The contracts of Carlos Beltran, Aroldis Chapman, Ivan Nova and Mark Teixeira are all set to expire, giving the Yankees more than $50 million of room for annual salaries.
It could also drop another $25 million if CC Sabathia gets injured, preventing his vesting option in the final year of his deal. After the 2017 season, Sabathia is surely done in New York as well as Alex Rodriguez. There is also the possibility that they may let Dustin Ackley, Nathan Eovaldi and Michael Pineda leave via free agency.
However, the Yankees have to continue resisting signing free agents as the 2017 class will also have big names like Jake Arrieta, Brandon Belt, Lorenzo Cain, Lucas Duda, Alcides Escobar, Eric Hosmer, Todd Frazier, J.D. Martinez, Mike Moustakas, Trevor Plouffe and Tyson Ross.
So far this offseason, the Yankees have improved the team without spending money as they were big players in the trade market. Brian Cashman has acquired Starlin Castro from the Chicago Cubs and Aroldis Chapman from the Cincinnati Reds, per Rants Sports.
The arrival of Castro solves the team's infield problems and Chapman joins Dellin Betances and Andrew Miller to form the best bullpen trio in the entire MLB.
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