Baseball: Nationals to Sign Harper
Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo hopes the sixteen players among the 50 chosen for the 2010 First-Year Player Draft remained unsigned to complete the deals until 17th of August. However, if the team succeeds in signing those, Washington Nationals would prove they have one of the Drafts ever. That’s what team’s president Stan Kasten believes, too. “I think this has a chance to be as good a Draft as we have ever had. Let see how we finish up. I would like to sign at least a couple of the guys that we still have unsigned. But if we do, it will be really good. I think that is the opinion of the industry — other professionals.”
Still, the biggest name remained on course for the singing is the number one overall pick, outfielder Bryce Harper, who is expected to join Nationals, despite the difficult talks Rizzo is undergoing. “I feel confident that we will sign the guys we want to sign out of the Draft. It’s a two-way street, and we are certainly doing our part. We are engaged in good dialogue and good communication. Harper is a player we really want in the organization. The talks and the negotiations are always difficult, and they’re always unique. This is a unique situation just like Stephen Strasburg was last year. We’re battling through it. We don’t make a big public display of it. Suffice to say, we are working hard at trying to sign him,” general manager added. During the 2010 season, the 17-year-old Harper, who plays with a wooden bat, hit .422 with 29 home runs and 89 RBIs, while at the National Junior College World Series he hit for the cycle, going 6 for 7 in the opener.
Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is sure one cannot reach that performances (Harper’s) if not talented. “You don’t get that kind of hype if you are not a great talent. Any time we can get good talent, it’s important to the organization. We’re trying to get better. He seems like a guy that could make us better,” while Strasburg claimed Harper doesn’t need any advice with him concerning his move to Washington. “If he wants to play here, then he is going to play here. He doesn’t need any advice from anybody. You don’t need to convince him otherwise. If he doesn’t want to play here, then we don’t want him here — bottom line. We want guys who want to play on this team. It’s really important.”
