Nationals won't trade Harper; Dodgers were reportedly mystery team
Bryce Harper won't be included in the Washington Nationals' fire sale.
The Nationals decided not to trade the six-time All-Star after the Los Angeles Dodgers reportedly were the mystery team to place a claim on him, according to 106.7 The Fan's Grant Paulsen. The claim has since expired, meaning that Harper will play out the final year of his contract in Washington before hitting free agency this winter.
"I had no fear of being traded," Harper said, according to MLB.com's Jamal Collier.
The Nationals' decision to hold on to Harper comes moments after Washington made a flurry of deals, trading second baseman Daniel Murphy to the Chicago Cubs and outfielder Matt Adams to the St. Louis Cardinals.
During a press conference where the team announced the trades, general manager Mike Rizzo wouldn't concede how close the Nationals came to trading away Harper, but added that it would've had to be the right deal.
Teams are allowed to place players on revocable waivers a second time. However, if the player gets claimed again, the team must work out a deal with that club or allow the claim to go through without being able to pull the player back off of waivers.
Despite sustained slumps this year, Harper has authored an .891 OPS with 30 home runs and nine stolen bases.