Phillies

Are Matt Klentak’s “You Have to be Willing to Walk Away” Comments Foreshadowing or Just Gamesmanship?

By Bob Wankel

Published: Feb 19th, 2019 · 3:22 PM EST

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Hello, desperate Phillies fans. How are you holding up this afternoon? With lots of poise and confidence, I’m sure.

Manny Machado looks headed to San Diego on a 10-year deal worth a reported $300 million. I haven’t much cared about Machado in weeks, as I, like many of you, only have eyes for Bryce Harper. The vulnerability is real right now with uncertainty looming over Harper’s fate, and, ultimately, if our love will go unrequited. This won’t help:

#Phillies GM Matt Klentak, on Manny Machado's $300 million deal: "We had a pretty good idea of where this thing was going. … If the reports are true, then this contract will exceed our valuation and sometimes you have to be willing to walk away."

— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) February 19, 2019

There are a few ways to look at Klentak’s comments. The pessimist fearing the Phillies are about to miss out on Harper may conclude that if the team wasn’t willing to go 10 years/$300 million, it probably won’t be comfortable going the same length for potentially $325+ million with Harper. It’s true that Harper’s offensive value exceeds that of Machado, but at what cost? Is the team willing to completely overlook the -26 defensive runs saved posted by Harper in what was a shockingly disastrous 2018 season defensively? Also consider that many around the game have suspected Machado was the team’s preference all along. Is this Klentak foreshadowing what’s to come, or is he simply trying to regain the little bit of leverage the team has left with Machado now out of the picture?

The other component to this equation is, does the business/marketing aspect play a role, and if so, to what extent? Ticket and merchandise sales are sure to explode with Harper’s addition. Will the team consider this when determining just how far it’s willing to go?

Either way, I don’t blame you if you read the following extended comments by Klentak and don’t feel particularly excited about the chances of Harper landing in Philly:

Bryce or bust now for #Phillies? Here's Matt Klentak's take on that idea: pic.twitter.com/PntRZpqJzw

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) February 19, 2019

So how does this now play out? To me, it’s still hard to believe Harper and the Phillies don’t end up together, if (and this is a big if) they do clear the $325 million threshold set by Giancarlo Stanton’s contract. White Sox executive vice president Ken Williams indicated today his team isn’t comfortable going to $300 million for a player. If that’s the case, there just doesn’t seem to be another obvious match for Harper, which is what we’ve suspected all along. Of course, that’s if he wants to come here:

Heard the same thing reiterated from a different source. Harper said to be reluctant to go to Philly. If they can get to $326 mil — beating Stanton's deal, that could overrule his doubts. https://t.co/YgnIsprkMx

— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) February 19, 2019

Woe is us.