Top stories of 2018: Harper's up-and-down contract year

As we count down the final days of 2018, we're counting down the most significant stories of the year for the Nationals. Some are positive. Some are negative. All helped define this baseball season in Washington. Five top stories made the final cut, and we've revealed one per day, concluding now with ...

No. 1: Harper's walk year

It had been looming since ... well, to be honest, since the day the Nationals drafted Bryce Harper and everybody started wondering what would happen once he became a free agent.

Harper's contract year was always going to be a big deal, hyped more than just about any other star player's contract year because of his supreme talent, young age and comfortability with the spotlight that comes with all this. And sure enough, it was the underlying story of the entire 2018 season for the Nationals.

Everyone had been prepared for this, but few could have been prepared for the manner in which Harper's walk year played out.

The slugger reported to West Palm Beach in February and immediately made it clear he wanted no part of the speculation that already had begun to swirl.

"Just want to let you guys know I will not be discussing anything relative to 2019, at all," he said Feb. 19 upon arriving for spring training. "I'm focused on this year. I'm focused on winning and playing hard, like every single year. So if you guys have any questions about anything after 2018, you can call Scott and he can answer you guys."

Scott Boras would remain the picture, as he typically is anyway, all year long. Harper, meanwhile, tried to keep his focus on the field, where he was having all kinds of trouble producing at his established rate.

Whether a byproduct of injuries to other key lineup members, a lack of plate discipline, a concerted effort to try to launch as many homers as possible to the pull side or something else, Harper at times looked lost with the bat during the season's first half. He hit a paltry .188 with a .341 slugging percentage in June and reached the All-Star break sporting a .214 batting average.

Through it all, Harper seemed (to the outside observer) miserable. He rarely smiled. He gave stock answers to every question asked of him. He kept insisting there was nothing wrong with his swing, that he wasn't concerned with his numbers.

Such was the backdrop on South Capitol Street for the All-Star Game, with Harper serving as the unofficial face of the Midsummer Classic. Would he be able to turn on the charm again, to embrace the event as Major League Baseball needed him to? Yes. Yes, he would.

With a stirring performance in the Home Run Derby, Harper got his groove back. He smiled. He laughed. He played up to D.C. fans. And he opened the season's second half a new man.

Harper hit .370 with six doubles and four homers in his first 16 games coming out of the break, and he never looked back. His final second-half slash line - .300/.434/.538 - was much more in line with his career norm and allowed him to salvage his season on an individual level.

On a team level, of course, there was no salvaging. The Nationals were perhaps baseball's biggest disappointment, a mediocre 82-80 club that, unlike Harper, never could get itself on a consistent upward trajectory.

During those final days, Harper finally began speaking publicly about his future. He said he would love to stay in Washington, but positioned that decision as ownership's to make and not his. It would later come out that the Lerner family made a formal contract offer in late September - 10 years for $300 million, according to the Washington Post - and Harper (unsurprisingly, given that he was days away from free agency) turned it down.

Three months later, Harper still hasn't signed for 2019 and beyond. Teams including the Dodgers, Cubs, Phillies, Yankees and White Sox have vacillated between high interest and non-interest. Boras has talked up his client, as he always does, and played the waiting game while teams decide when to make an offer that knocks his socks off.

We don't yet know how this story will end. Parties from both sides insist Harper and the Nationals haven't closed the door on each other, leaving open the possibility (however slight) that he stays.

"I don't know," Harper said following the season finale in Colorado. "So nobody knows."

Will the top story of 2018 for the Nationals be remembered for its happy ending or its painful conclusion? Alas, it looks like we won't get our answer until 2019.