Harper eyes extension, hopes to retire with Phils
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Alden Gonzalez, ESPN Staff Writer
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Bryce Harper has expressed a desire to sign an extension with the Philadelphia Phillies, even though his contract spans eight more years and takes him through his age-38 season, his agent, Scott Boras, said Wednesday.
Harper’s 13-year, $330 million free agent contract was the largest in major league history when he signed it in March 2019, topping Giancarlo Stanton‘s $325 million extension with the Miami Marlins. The deal came with no opt-outs — something Harper said he requested in order to prove his loyalty to Philadelphia and help recruit other players — and a $25.4 million average annual value that paled in comparison to the $30 million secured by Manny Machado that same offseason.
Harper’s contract is now the seventh-highest in the sport; 23 players have a higher average annual value. Boras, hosting his annual winter meetings scrum from the Gaylord Opryland Resort, brought up Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who restructured his contract in order to better line up with his QB counterparts. He also hinted at Harper, who will transition to first base on a full-time basis, playing into his 40s.
“Bryce has certainly expressed to them that he wants to end his career in Philadelphia,” Boras said. “I’ve certainly told [president of baseball operations] Dave [Dombrowski] I think Bryce is a franchise player. … He came there for the fans. Apart from my advice, he goes, ‘I just want to go and make sure I can recruit players in Philadelphia, let the fans in Philadelphia know that I’m going to be there for the duration, that I am committed.’ I think he’s been an important voice for them to attract major free agents.”
Harper, who turned 31 in October, won his second MVP while with the Phillies in 2021 and has batted .290/.385/.505 with 39 homers and 137 RBIs in 225 games over the past two years, during which he suffered an elbow injury that ultimately required Tommy John surgery. Harper underwent the procedure in late November 2022 and returned in record time, reinserting himself into the Phillies’ lineup by the start of the following May. A few months later, he began to transition from right field to first base as a means to free up designated hitter while putting less stress on his arm.
Harper, the Washington Nationals‘ former No. 1 overall pick, has now spent a half-decade in Philadelphia and has talked often about his adoration for the city’s passionate fan base, a dynamic he has clearly leaned into.
“He has a lot of goals that he wants to achieve in Philadelphia,” Boras said. “Obviously he’s a Hall of Fame-type talent. He wants to keep his personal pursuits in the game there. … He’s been there five years, he’s kind of shown them who he is, and why he’s a franchise player. I think he’s changed the player community, how players view Philadelphia, and so consequently, he’s come in and said, ‘This is something I want off my mind. I want to play well beyond the contract that I have.'”
Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava officially announced his transfer to UCLA via a social media post Sunday.
“My journey at UT has come to an end,” he wrote on Instagram. “This decision was incredibly difficult, and truthfully, not something I expected to make this soon. But I trust God’s timing, and I believe He’s leading me where I need to be.
“Even though this chapter is ending, a new chapter has begun and I am committed to UCLA!”
Iamaleava was a highly regarded recruit who led Tennessee to the College Football Playoff last season. He was No. 1 in ESPN’s transfer portal rankings and immediately gives UCLA one of the best-known players in the sport upon his arrival. The Bruins are coming off a 5-7 debut season by coach DeShaun Foster.
Iamaleava, a five-star prospect from Long Beach, California, was recruited by UCLA out of high school. His younger brother, Madden Iamaleava, committed to UCLA out of high school but changed his commitment on the morning of signing day and signed with Arkansas.
Those recruitments gave both sides plenty of familiarity and the ability to potentially move quickly.
Iamaleava passed for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and 5 interceptions in his first season as a starter, but in nine games against SEC opponents and Ohio State in the playoff, he threw for more than 200 yards only twice.
Tennessee’s offense finished No. 9 in the conference in scoring with 25.0 points per game in SEC play. The Volunteers’ offense was No. 1 in rushing and No. 11 in passing in league play.
UCLA is coming off a season in which it finished No. 14 in scoring offense and No. 12 in total offense in Big Ten play.
Iamaleava was earning $2.4 million at Tennessee under the contract he signed with Spyre Sports Group, the Tennessee-based collective, when he was still in high school. The deal would have paid him in the $10 million range altogether had he stayed four years at Tennessee.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel announced last week after the Volunteers’ spring game that the program was moving forward without Iamaleava after he missed practice and meetings April 11. He hadn’t alerted anyone on the team and was unresponsive afterward.
Heupel thanked Iamaleava and called the situation unfortunate, but added, “There’s no one bigger than the Power T, and that includes me.”
Iamaleava, a rising redshirt sophomore, officially entered the transfer portal Wednesday with a do-not-contact tag.
ESPN’s Pete Thamel contributed to this report.
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Kristen Shilton
The New Jersey Devils‘ injury woes may have reached alarming new heights.
Defenseman Brenden Dillon and forward Cody Glass exited during the second and third periods, respectively, in Game 1 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, a 4-1 loss for New Jersey. The Devils were also briefly without defenseman Luke Hughes, who left in the third period but was able to return.
New Jersey entered the postseason already undermanned. Top forward Jack Hughes, Luke’s brother, had season-ending shoulder surgery in March, and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is also not expected to be available in the first round.
Coach Sheldon Keefe remained optimistic though about one of the team’s latest injured bodies.
“(Dillon) was eager to get back out there,” Keefe said by way of an update. Doctors ultimately held Dillon out for “precautionary reasons.”
The veteran blueliner was taken to the ice by Carolina forward William Carrier battling in front of the Devils’ net. He remained down for several minutes before being helped off by New Jersey’s training staff.
It was a disastrous third period sequence that shortened New Jersey’s bench further. Hughes went flying into the Devils’ net after tripping over Hurricanes’ forward Andrei Svechnikov, and ran off the ice cradling his right arm. Then, Devils’ goaltender Jacob Markstrom accidentally clipped Glass with his stick while appearing to aim for Svechnikov. Glass left and did not return while Hughes finished the game.
New Jersey will have to wait and see who is available when they take on Carolina in Game 2 on Tuesday. For now, Keefe won’t let the Devils dwell on what they can’t control.
“To a man, myself included,” he said, “we’re all going to have to be better.”
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