WASHINGTON, D.C.  Feb. 12 (DPI) – Two star baseball players – Bryce Harper and Manny Machado – are still looking to cash in on free agency, still unsigned after a three-month off-season that officially ends with spring training next week.

It’s a development that has had many in the sports press calling foul, that major league baseball owners are colluding to suppress salaries by not offering 9-figure long-term contracts.  The Washington Nationals offered Harper, its marquee player the last seven seasons, offered in September $300 million over 10 years, and the 26-year-old outfielder turned it down.

Veteran sportswriter Tom Boswell of The Washington Post howled about ownership collusion recently in a January 25 column,  declaring that

Harper will be funneled to Philadelphia, where I doubt that he longs to play, for less than the 10-year, $300 million offer from the Nationals that he rejected in September. He will end up with the Phillies because no other team in MLB will make him a competitive offer … With each week that passes, it’s harder to see a bidding war busting out for Bryce or Manny.

Readers, though, were largely unsympathetic to the players, and their agents, who are aggressively promoting their clients to various teams.

At this writing, Machado has reportedly received a $200 million offer over seven or eight years from the lowly Chicago White Sox, and all the other teams – including the free-spending Yankees – to hold back until the market for Machado weakens further.

As for Harper, rumored suitors remain the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Diego Padres, and the San Francisco Giants. Based on the actions of the Nationals – which has re-stocked its roster, especially starting pitching, in this off season – Harper’s former team appears to have moved on.

The most popular comments linked linked to Boswell’s column:

Given a choice, I think most Nationals fans would prefer to pay (third baseman Anthony) Rendon and let Harper walk considering the upcoming and talented outfield ready for MLB.  I’m hoping greed loses and Harper regrets not taking the Nationals $300M offer.  Who turns down $300M to play a game?  Ridiculous.

Hey Bryce,
If the Flyers, for some odd reason, ever become good again and make it Stanley Cup against the Vegas Knights and you are playing baseball in Philly here is some advice:  DO NOT WEAR A VEGAS KNIGHTS JERSEY TO THE HOME GAMES IN PHILLY AS IT IS NOT LIKE WASHINGTON.

The Nats offered Harper $300 Million over ten years and he and Boras turned it down.  I think that was more than Harper was worth, but Harper and Boras gambled that they could get more and, it now appears, that was not a good gamble.  In the meantime, the Nats used the money that they were offering Harper to go out and improve the team and, I believe, make it stronger than if Harper had accepted their offer.  Harper is a good player, but he is not the Second Coming and he is not in the same league as Mike Trout and a number of other players.  He’ll still get an enormous pay day, but I can’t fault the Nats–or any other owners–for not buying into Boras’ hype or  inflated demands.

Observers are quick to accuse MLB owners of collusion, but I think there’s something else going on.  Baseball GM’s analytical processes are so much more data driven in recent years, that it’s really the data that has lead to a 2 key points of consensus across the league:  1) superstar players don’t lead to baseball championships in the same way they do in other sports 2) teams regret agreeing to long-term deals (8+ years) with even the best of players.
So, instead of a secret conspiracy among owners, the cold market for Machado and Harper is the natural outcome of league-wide practice of using hard, cold data to evaluate players and the contracts that they are offered.  The nerds won.