Scott Boras knows root of Nationals’ Bryce Harper’s slump | Will Yankees still bid for ‘iconic’ star?

Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper will become a free agent after the 2018 MLB season. Harper is hitting a career-low .213. But his agent, Scott Boras, isn’t worried about that impacting his ability to land a mega-contract from a deep-pocketed general manager like the Yankees’ Brian Cashman or the Phillies’ Matt Klentak.

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Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper is having a very un-Harper-like season in 2018.

He’s hitting a career-low .213 and is on pace to strike out a career-high 170 times.

Not exactly what Harper was hoping for before becoming a free agent after the 2018 MLB season.

Despite those numbers, deep-pocketed teams like the Yankees and Phillies could line up to give Harper a contract that might reach or exceed $400 million.

Harper is represented by Scott Boras, who believes the 25-year-old will be worth every penny, because there is a simple explanation for his 2018 slump: shifts.

Boras explains his reasoning, per the Washington Post:

“I’ve dealt with greatness in this game for a long time, and the great thing about trials in the game, that the game brings to great players, is that you have to look at what the game and the opponents are trying to do and what the game’s trying to do to prohibit greatness,” Boras said. “Because he gets off to a great start, what do they do? Well, they’re going to starve him from the strike zone. And remember they’re not doing this to a [Mike] Trout or a [Manny] Machado. Why is that? They’re great players. Why are they not doing it them, yet they’re doing it to Bryce? And the answer to that, I think, is largely that [the] power component carries a great fear.”

Further, Boras maintained that shifting has essentially broken the game and particularly hurt left-handed sluggers such as Harper. Boras believes shifts are “discriminatory” against left-handed batters because they can be more drastic against them than against right-handed hitters.

“The generation of this, I don’t think is good for the game,” Boras said. “I just think rules — you have rules in football, basketball, hockey that have all been adjusted to these dynamics. And it’s clear that hard-hit balls have almost [a] 100-, 115-point lower average for left-handed hitters versus right-handed hitters with exit velocities of above 93 miles an hour.

“We see that’s an effect just by merely being right-handed versus left-handed. So when you see stats like that, you know there’s reason for change because the game should be equal for both sides, whether you’re a left-handed or right-handed hitter.”

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Harper remains a power threat at the plate. He’s second in the National League with 21 home runs and he will participate in the Home Run Derby during the All-Star break at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.

It’s in part because of Harper’s power potential that Boras is not worried about shifting having an impact on the slugger’s worth in free agency.

“No, because, again, every person in the game wants somebody who hits the ball the hardest, the farthest and gets on base the most,” Boras said. “Because you talk about teams and their RC+ [runs created-plus], all the analytics that they look at. It deals with . . . getting on base and moving runners. And it also deals a lot with OPS [on-base-plus-slugging percentage] and slugging and power and all these tools that a guy has. And remember, too, that if the treatment of greatness is to walk and that they believe that that really stops the player from doing well, why don’t they do it with other players? We [have] three or four really unbelievable players in this game. Why are they not walking them at those rates?”

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“A player like Bryce Harper is unique in the sense that he makes you money in addition to the service he provides,” Boras said. “He’s iconic. And so these are opportunities for teams who are looking at a very unusual look at something that they rarely will ever have an opportunity to obtain.”

 Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.