Seconds before the midnight deadline Monday night, 17-year-old Bryce Harper, negotiating with agent Scott Boras, signed with the Nationals. The No. 1 overall draft pick signed a five-year deal worth $9.9 million.

His contract is a record-setter for a non-pitcher signing out of the draft who had not become a free agent, surpassing the mark previously held by Mark Teixeiera in 2001. Teixeira’s major league deal was for $9.5 million over four years with the Rangers.

Harper, a 6-foot-3, 205-pound power hitter, was the Nationals’ second consecutive No. 1 overall draft choice. Washington commanded the 2009 and 2010 No. 1 picks after finishing with the worst records in the major league in 2008 and 2009.

Stephen Strasburg came to terms with the Nationals only a minute before the deadline last year. Strasburg’s $15.1 million, four-year contract with Washington was the highest for any player out of the draft.

Harper, the first junior college player taken with the first overall selection, heads to Washington after playing catcher for the College of Southern Nevada, but he is expected to convert to the outfield with the Nationals.

At Southern Nevada, participating in a wooden bat league, Harper hit .443 with 31 homers and 98 RBI in his lone season. He went to Southern Nevada after skipping two years of high school and getting his GED to be eligible for the 2010 amateur draft.

Harper’s contract calls for a signing bonus of $6.25 million in five equal payments of $1.25 million: 30 days after approval and each July 1 from 2011 through 2014. He receives salaries of $500,000 each in 2011 and 2012, $750,000 in 2013, $900,000 in 2014 and $1 million in 2015 — roster bonuses that could raise the value of his deal to $10.9 million.

If he spends 30, 60, 90 and 120 days on the active major league roster in each of the last two years of the contract, he can earn up to an extra $500,000 in each of those contract years, getting $125,000 each time each year.

The Nationals also agreed to pay for eight semesters of college for Harper.

Harper, who was featured on Sports Illustrated’s cover as “baseball’s chosen one” and the “most exciting prodigy since LeBron,” was the first non-senior to earn Baseball America’s High School Player of the Year award and  only the second junior college player, joining Alex Fernandez in 1990, to win the Golden Spikes Award, given to the country’s top amateur baseball player.

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said he hopes Harper will report to Washington’s rookie-level Gulf Coast League team in Florida “as soon as possible.”

The Nationals also announced contracts with second-round choice Sammy Solis, a right-handed pitcher out of the University of San Diego, and fourth-round pick A.J. Cole, a right-handed high school pitcher, earlier Monday night.

4 Comments for “Harper signs record-setting deal with Nationals”

1. Joe R Says:
   August 17th, 2010 at 11:49 am

   I’m not sure what I love more, a baseball team trying to nickel and dime a hot rookie (all this blabbing and he’s not even going to earn $2 mil a year? Really?), or the fact that fans are going to come in here bitching about how he’s “spoiled” and “doesn’t deserve it”, like contracts are some sort of lifetime achievement award and that somehow anyone “deserves” 8 figure salaries for any reason but the value they bring a franchise.

   Given WEEI’s demographic, I’m stunned it hasn’t already happened, along with some random, semi-correlated vitriol towards JD Drew.

2. specifically Says:
   April 21st, 2011 at 12:47 pm

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4. Acuvue Oasys Rebate Says:
   July 27th, 2011 at 1:08 pm

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