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WASHINGTON — Bryce Harper and the Washington Nationals have reached a $21,625,000 deal for the 2018 season, a contact that covers the slugging outfielder through his last year before he can become a free agent.
While no long-term agreement is in place, the deal Saturday shows the sides are talking beyond the time the Nationals are assured of having the 24-year-old Harper in their lineup.
The four-time All-Star was the unanimous NL MVP in 2015. Harper would’ve been eligible for salary arbitration next year.
Harper is making $13.63 million this season. He is hitting .372 with 10 home runs and 29 RBIs in 31 games for the team with the best record in the National League.
In addition to his base salary, Harper can make $1 million for winning the 2018 NL MVP, $500,000 for finishing second in the voting, $250,000 for third, $150,000 for fourth and $100,000 for fifth. He also would get $100,000 each for being an All-Star or winning a Gold Glove or Silver Slugger award.
Orioles star Jones urges dialogue
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With the Negro Leagues museum as his backdrop, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said the recent racial taunting he endured in Boston shows there needs to be more dialogue about diversity.
Almost two weeks after he said he was called the N-word and had a bag of peanuts thrown in his direction at Fenway Park, the star said Saturday that he still grapples with the reality that “people aren’t afraid to show ugliness and hate right now.”
“I personally don’t understand it,” Jones said at Kansas City’s Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in announcing his $20,000 donation to the shrine — a gift he said he decided to make months ago, well before the Fenway ugliness he labeled “very unfortunate.”
“With incidents like this, it’s just a great time to talk about it,” 31-year-old Jones added, midway through his team’s weekend series against the Royals.
Red Sox officials have apologized and said that only one of 34 fans kicked out of the game in question was ejected for using foul language toward a player, and it wasn’t clear whether that was toward Jones. Boston police said the peanuts hit a nearby police officer, and Fenway security ejected the man who threw them out before he could be identified by authorities.
Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred quickly condemned the incidents and said all 30 teams are being surveyed as they consider putting in place league-wide guidelines for handling fans who make racist remarks.
Since the Fenway matter, other black players throughout the big leagues said it is a common occurrence to be subjected to such boorish fan behavior that Jones — a native of ethnically broad San Diego — called confounding.
“I just grew up, fortunately, in a diverse world, a diverse city. Some people don’t,” Jones said, adding that he has a bi-racial wife and a white mother-in-law. “Some people grow up in a culture of just like minds, around like beings. And that’s just how some people are taught growing up. I think it all goes back to how parents teach their kids.”
Cubs call up Ian Happ
ST. LOUIS (AP) — The Chicago Cubs bought the contract of Ian Happ from Triple-A Iowa and put the outfielder in the starting lineup against St. Louis for his major league debut.
The Cubs also optioned pitcher Felix Pena to Iowa on Saturday.
Chicago is short on outfielders, and Happ got the start in right field. NL MVP Kris Bryant missed his second game Saturday against the Cardinals with stomach flu. Right fielder Jason Heyward remains on the 10-day disabled list with a finger injury.
Happ is hitting .298 with nine home runs and 25 RBI in 26 games with Iowa. He was a first-round draft choice, No. 9 overall.
Pena made two relief appearances. He is 0-0 with a 3.60 ERA.