In an off-season of inertia for many teams, the Nationals have sprinted to spring training. That’s what you want to play for.”Harper — like shortstop Manny Machado — was expected to command a record contract on the open market. A six-time All-Star, Harper helped lead Washington to four division titles and won the National League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 2015. But we also had to put an expiration date on it, because how do you do other business if you don’t have an expiration date on that offer? The Nationals are the only team with three contracts worth at least $140 million that all extend beyond 2020 — including Corbin’s, the only true bonanza of baseball’s bewildering, endless winter.

Source: New York Times February 15, 2019 23:48 UTC