Rizzo addresses report of "balking" at Harper's contract demands

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. - Just when you thought all the chatter about the Nationals at the Winter Meetings was going to be focused on Andrew McCutchen, Chris Sale and closers, an even bigger name got thrown into the fire this afternoon and nearly drowned out everything else: Bryce Harper.

A report by USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggesting the Nationals are "balking" at Harper's demands for a long-term extension and are "preparing themselves to be without their All-Star outfielder after 2018" swept through the Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center like wildfire and immediately caused consternation among locals hoping Harper wears a curly W cap for life.

General manager Mike Rizzo, though, attempted to downplay the story during his daily session with reporters, noting the organization's tact with all players is to prepare for the worst.

"With every player that you acquire, it's a possibility that you may lose them in a specific timeframe," Rizzo said. "So with Bryce Harper and every other player that has a contract expiring, you better make plans. It's not just Bryce Harper. It's everybody on the roster."

Rizzo wouldn't directly address any negotiations that have taken place with Harper and agent Scott Boras - "I'm not going to answer any of those kind of questions," he said. "Those are private discussions between us and the players." - but he described an ongoing and cordial relationship between the two sides that hasn't changed over time.

"We have discussions with Boras and every other agent on a weekly basis," Rizzo said. "We're constantly talking to him throughout the year, throughout the winter, during the season. It's talked about quite often. They're not specific negotiations, but they're discussions. About strategies and philosophies and all those things that come into it."

The Nationals have a host of prominent Boras clients, including Max Scherzer, Stephen Strasburg, Jayson Werth and Anthony Rendon, but none as prominent as Harper. And when the then-22-year-old put together a unanimous MVP season in 2015, the price tag for a long-term extension began to soar to previously unseen levels.

No hard numbers have even been made public, but terms beyond 10 years and $400 million have often been speculated. The price tag may have come down a touch in the wake of Harper's disappointing 2016 season, but he's still due to hit free agency as one of the most accomplished 26-year-old sluggers in baseball history.

At this point, the Nationals and Boras have only discussed terms for his 2017 contract, according to a source familiar with both sides. After making $5 million this season, he's due for a sizable raise through arbitration to perhaps $9 million or $10 million.

Harper has one more season of arbitration eligibility in 2018, after which he's due to become a free agent for the first time in his career.

Suffice it to say, there's plenty of time for this saga to play out. And the odds of either side having decided with 100 percent certainty what ultimately will happen are slim.