The Los Angeles Dodgers appear ready to make Bryce Harper baseball's richest year-to-year player.
While the Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants have apparently offered the 26-year-old 10-year contracts worth at least $300 million, the Dodgers have discussed a short-term deal that would "obliterate" the $34.3-million annual average salary of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Zack Greinke, reports Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY Sports.
Greinke signed a six-year, $206.5-million deal with the D-Backs in 2015, making him baseball's richest player by annual average salary.
After Harper's recent meetings with the trio of teams, his agent Scott Boras has now begun to circle back to other clubs to gauge their interest, three people with knowledge of the negotiations told Nightengale.
The same sources have been told the Dodgers, Giants, and Phillies are prepared to either present Harper with the largest overall contract signed by a free agent in sports history, or provide him with the richest deal by annual average value ever given to a baseball player, according to Nightengale.
Philadelphia reportedly has the highest offer but could be left on the outside looking in with the outfielder receiving proposals from teams located closer to his Las Vegas home.
Harper, the 2015 National League MVP, is reportedly seeking an offer that exceeds the $325-million contract of New York Yankees powerhouse Giancarlo Stanton.
