Did the Nationals just smooth things over with Bryce Harper?

That the Nationals and Bryce Harper came to terms yesterday without needing to swap arbitration figures is not a surprise. But the amount the two sides agreed to ($13.625 million for one season) did surprise more than a few people.

Harper made only $5 million last season - yes, it's OK to use the qualifier "only" in front of $5 million because given Harper's MVP performance in 2015, a $5 million salary the next year truly was a bargain for the Nats - so few expected his raise to be so dramatic this winter.

MLBTradeRumors.com, which has a strong track record for projecting these things, estimated Harper would get $9.3 million. Obviously, he got a whole lot more than that.

So what gives here? Well, perhaps there was some recognition on the Nationals' part that Harper deserved to make more than $5 million last season, and so they simply bumped him up to a salary more commensurate with his actual performance and experience levels.

Keep in mind that Harper signed a two-year deal back in December 2014, letting the club buy out his first two seasons of arbitration eligibility. Harper locked himself into a $2.5 million salary in 2015 and then a $5 million salary in 2016.

Had he not gone for the two-year deal at the time, Harper would have gone through the standard arbitration process again last winter, only this time he would have been a couple months removed from one of the greatest seasons ever put together by a player his age. Suffice it to say, he would've wound up making more than $5 million.

So maybe the Nationals threw Harper a bone of sorts yesterday, acknowledging they got him for relative peanuts the last two years and now trying to make up for it with a higher-than-expected salary figure for 2017.

And just maybe the Nats wanted to make sure they did something to make nice with Harper after that report of animosity between the two sides last month during the Winter Meetings. This certainly is one way to smooth things over, and perhaps even help put everyone in a good mood before any serious discussions of a long-term extension pick up.

Is Harper suddenly more likely to re-sign with the Nationals because they agreed to a significant raise this year? It probably doesn't make much difference.

But you never know.