Marty’s musings: Harper has landed

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game.

In today’s Musings, Bryce Harper finally lands in a Phillies uniform on a multi...multi-year deal,

All this news and more in this week’s Musings.

News and Notes

13 - Year, $330 million deal Bryce Harper and the Phillies agreed to last week. The rumors were swirling, with even Smashmouth coming in with some scuttlebutt all their own (mercifully, it wasn’t substantiated, and we remained on the right side of the looking glass). The $330 million near-decade-and-a-half deal locks Harper into a Philadelphia uniform for a long time, as he goes all-in on a Phillies team on the ride. By annual average value, this does not place Harper in the top-ten (behind even Jon Lester and Yoenis Cespedes).

4 - Games the Nationals are projected to best the Phillies for the division per FanGraphs projected standings. Despite the Phillies being on the addition side of a zero-sum equation in the Harper sweepstakes, even Baseball Prospectus’ PECOTA has the two teams in a projected deadlock atop the division, with each projected for 89 wins.

350 - Million dollars over ten-years, the rumored extension the Angels are discussing for Mike Trout. This would be the largest contract in MLB history, but may still cut-short Trout considering his ability, precedent numbers, and age.

4/4/2019 - The first time in professional baseball that an all-female broadcast booth will take to the airwaves. The Salem Red Sox announced last week that Melanie Newman and Suzie Cool will be the team’s broadcast team for 2019. Newman brings ten-plus years of broadcasting experience, most recently with the double-A Frisco Roughriders, while Cool brings broadcasting experience from the Carolina League.

129 - The fewest number of games Royals’ catcher Salvador Perez has played in since 2013. He suffered an injury last week that will require Tommy John Surgery, and sideline him for all of 2019. It’s a rough blow for the Royals, who are projected for a 90-loss season.

24 - Days until Opening Day!