Matt Klentak, whom Angelo Cataldi once described as “incompetent,” was on 94 WIP this morning with Angelo Cataldi.

The Phillies General Manager was in good spirits as he described the pursuit and acquisition of Bryce Harper, who looks set to play out the rest of his career at Citizens Bank Park on a 13 year, $330 million contract.

Klentak said he did not wake up last Thursday morning believing that the deal was going to happen. But when Scott Boras and the Phillies agreed in principle on the numbers I listed above, he felt like the framework of the deal was set, which resulted in the fleshing out of the remaining details.

Here are some notes from his 17 minute phone call with WIP:

  • The early thinking was that “one player wasn’t going to make our offseason.” Klentak said the Phillies did not want to be “held hostage” by the biggest free agent names, which is why they got out early and did the Seattle trade and made other moves. They did not want to wait around for Harper or Manny Machado.
  • Cataldi asked Klentak if Machado’s comments about hustling gave him pause, to which Klentak replied “yes.” In a follow-up, Klentak described Machado and Harper as “two of the best” players in baseball.
  • Klentak laughed when Cataldi asked if Harper fit the organization’s analytical approach to the game. From an on-field perspective, he said everybody is excited. The only thing he pointed out as being an outlier was the 13 year contract.
  • It took “many many conversations” to reach an agreement on the no-trade and opt-out pieces of Harper’s contract.

Klentak described John Middleton’s involvement in the process as “remarkable” –

“This is the first time since I’ve been here, and maybe the first time in a long time, in Phillies history, that ownership’s been involved in a recruiting pitch like this. It was pretty well covered throughout. John flew us out there, he was included in it, in the trip to Las Vegas in early January. We sat down and he was a part of that meeting. He was on the phone a number of times with Scott Boras in the last couple of weeks. And of course, the big trip he and his wife flew out just the two of them, no baseball operations people to go with them. Really that was, I say recruiting, but it was really more just conversation and connecting and educational, for all parties. If you’re gonna sign this length of a commitment, which turned out to be 13 years, you wanna get to know these people.”

More notes, after the jump:

  • Klentak reiterated the idea that “so many people” in the Phillies organization played a role in Harper’s recruitment. He hammered home the idea that this was not just an effort from Middleton and the front office staff.
  • He says the “stupid money” comment “raised the bar and pressure for the organization to deliver.” Klentak says the positive side of that comment is that they did not have trouble getting meetings with players and agents. He jokingly said he would not advise John Middleton to make that comment again next year, but says it was a demonstration of passion and commitment.
  • Klentak appreciates fans sticking with the team after a couple of difficult years.

You can listen to the full audio here: