The Bryce Harper free agent frenzy this coming offseason is going to be crazy. I'm notably envisioning his agent, Scott Boras, holding court at the Winter Meetings in the middle of hundreds of baseball media people desperately holding up their recording devices in hopes of getting his soundbites while others will be frantically tweeting his quotes. It'll be a scene, man.
For now, we're scrambling to read the tea leaves of every little move, trying to discern if there's meaning behind words or actions. Like this: On Thursday, Bryce Harper posted nine pictures on Instagram that, together, form him appearing to wave goodbye to Nationals fans:
The caption with all nine pictures?
bharper3407 To the fans and the city of DC, thank you!📍
He might be saying goodbye for good. I'm sure he could spin it to say he's saying goodbye for this season, as the Nats don't have another home game. He could also say it's a provisional goodbye, that is, a "just in case I leave" goodbye.
Whatever it is, let the speculation fly!
Harper, 25, is a career .278/.387/.512 (139 OPS+) hitter. He's got 32 doubles, 34 homers, 100 RBI, 102 runs and 12 steals this season with a .244/.391/.494 (131 OPS+) slash this season. He's hit .292/.432/.536 since the All-Star break.
