In all likelihood Andrew Cashner Jersey , the richest contract in Major League Baseball history will soon belong to a player whose downside is as perilous as his upside is extraordinary.To the extent that there ever was a secret, the secret is out that superstar outfielder Bryce Harper and super-agent Scott Boras are indeed looking for a record deal in free agency.According to Chelsea Janes of theWashington Post, Harper could have accepted a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Washington Nationals in September. But as far as Boras is concerned, such a deal wasn't close to good enough."They did not pay anywhere near [Harper's] $400 million to $500 million in [true value]," Boras told Joel Sherman of the New York Post. "This has been great value and is great value."The chances Harper will pull in $500 million鈥攁nd thereby beat Giancarlo Stanton's record$325 million deal by $175 million鈥攁re remote, at best.It is nonetheless expected that the 26-year-old's next pact will indeed raise the bar for professional athlete paydays. MLB Trade Rumors, for example, projects a 14-year, $420 million contract. Even a more conservative projection from Fancred's Jon Heyman still puts him at $330 million over 11 years.Split the difference, and something in the realm of $350 million seems in order. Certainly, whoever pays up will be most excited about Harper's potential.Mitchell Leff/Getty ImagesThis is, after all http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-chance-sisco-jersey , a player who's largely lived up to being aSports Illustrated cover athlete at 16 and a No. 1 draft choice at 17. Harper won the National League Rookie of the Year as a 19-year-old in 2012. He was the NL's unanimous MVP three years later. There's been only one season out of his seven in which hewasn'tan All-Star.The numbers are there, too. Harper is one of only six hitters to make over 3,000 plate appearances and put up a .900 OPS since 2012. His 184 career home runs are the 12th-most for a player through his age-25 season.More specifically, his 2015 efforts (1.109 OPS and 42 home runs) proved he can be baseball's best in a given year. Albeit in a losing cause, he showed he can take over a playoff series with a monstrous NLDS outburst(1.251 OPS and three homers) against the San Francisco Giants a year earlier.To boot, Harper's appeal goes beyond the diamond. As of 2016, his Q score rated him as the most recognizable active MLB player鈥攐ver fellow young superstars Mike Trout and Kris Bryant. Their Google traffic sends a similar message:Teams in the Harper sweepstakes can look at him and see a tantalizing package of youth, talent and marketability. In other words: precisely the kind of person who could justify the biggest investment ever made in a professional baseball player.And yet, such an investment could just as easily become a massive bust.The most relevant comparison for what Harper represents is what Alex Rodriguez was in the 2000-2001 offseason. He was a young, charismatic, MVP-level talent for sale to the highest bidder. Enter the Texas Rangers with a groundbreaking 10-year, $252 million contract.Adjusted for inflation, that pact would be worth roughly $360 million today.On some levels Jeremy Hellickson Jersey , it's reasonable Harper should get the modern equivalent of A-Rod's contract. Harper is a year older now than A-Rod was then, but his profile is similar, and even some of their numberslook alike.However, the comparison breaks down once wins above replacement鈥攚hich captures a player's total hitting, baserunning and defensive value鈥攊s factored in. Per Baseball Reference:The peaks (2015 for Harper, 2000 for Rodriguez) are similar, but the consistency is not. Rodriguez shook off a slow start to become a dependable star in his final five seasons with the Seattle Mariners. For his part, Harper has been a downright bad player in three of the last five years.Rodriguez's early track record isn't the only one that can make Harper's look unspectacular. Strictly among active players, those who've accumulated more WAR through their age-25 seasons includeTrout (54.2), Mookie Betts (35.2), Jason Heyward (29.8) and, yes, fellow superstar free agent Manny Machado (33.8).Injuries haven't helped Harper's cause. He was afflicted by knee problems in 2013 and 2017 http://www.oriolesfanproshop.com/authentic-caleb-joseph-jersey , as well as by a thumb malady in 2014 and, per Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci, a bum shoulder in 2016. That's more than enough for an "injury-prone" label and should concern prospective suitors.Beyond that, how much Harper will give outside the batter's box is debatable. Though he's an outstanding athlete, his baserunning and defense can be charitably described as unpredictable. As Jeff Sullivan covered at FanGraphs, the latter was outright terrible in 2018.Even Harper's bat has red flags.His offensive productivity has tended to fluctuate wildly between outstanding highs and pitiful lows, and not just because of injuries. There are times Harper loses his approach, and he's not as efficient a slugger as he should be.A hitter like Harper, who doesn't see many pitches in the strike zone, ought to choose his swings carefully and frequently make hard contact when he does let loose.He does exactly that when he's hot. But from anoverall perspective, he's no Trout:Data courtesy of FanGraphsFor all the reasons referenced, none of the red flags will, or should Roberto Alomar Jersey , bar Harper from a record-setting payday. To throw one more on the pile: Per MLB.com's Andrew Simon, the historical comparisons for both Harper and Machado bode well for their futures.There is nonetheless an all-too-obvious disparity between what Harper can be and what he is. His celebrity and accolades make him look like a singularly talented superstar slugger. In actuality, he's a part-time superstar whose talent for slugging isn't really that singular.Which is to say that nobody has any real clue what will become of the megacontract he'll soon sign. There are probably 50-50 odds it'll be money well spent or money down the drain for his new employer.To both, "godspeed" will be the only thing to say.Stats courtesy of Baseball Reference and FanGraphs. Nelson Cruz has done plenty of damage against the Los Angeles Angels in his 14-year career, and the Seattle Mariners designated hitter will look to cause more Friday night in the third contest of the four-game series.Cruz hit a three-run homer Thursday night in an 8-2 victory in the series opener at Angel Stadium, the 359th homer of his career and 50th against the Angels. Alex Rodriguez, who began his career as a shortstop with the Mariners, is the only player with more home runs against Los Angeles (70).Seattle (80-66) improved to 69-0 when leading after eight innings. The Oakland A’s are the only other team in the majors unbeaten in that situation.Article continues below ...The Angels (73-74) missed a chance to climb over .500 for the first time since Aug. 18.Cruz hit his 36th home run of the season in the fourth inning to give the Mariners a 6-0 lead. He hit his 35th on Wednesday in a 5-4 loss to to the visiting San Diego Padres, giving him 1,000 RBIs for his career and making him the only player with at least 35 home runs every season since 2014.“I’ve been playing a lot of games and it shows my routine,” he told ROOT Sports after Thursday’s win.Cruz will also look to continue his success against Angels starter Matt Shoemaker. Cruz is 8-for-26 in his career off the right-hander with two home runs.Shoemaker (2-0, 3.45 ERA) is scheduled to make his third start since coming off a five-month stay on the disabled list because of a second forearm surgery in two years.He’s 4-4 with a 4.33 ERA in 14 career appearances (12 starts) against the Mariners. He faced them twice last season before the initial forearm injury ended his season in mid-June.The Mariners are hoping to have shortstop Jean Segura back in the starting lineup after he missed the past three games with flu-like symptoms. Segura, who won the American League Final Vote to earn the final roster spot on the All-Star team http://www.redsoxproshops.com/authentic-dustin-pedroia-jersey , is fifth in the AL with a .310 batting average.Mariners left-hander James Paxton (11-6, 3.83) was originally scheduled to start Friday, but has a form of pneumonia, Seattle manager Scott Servias told reporters before Thursday’s game. Veteran right-hander Felix Hernandez also remained in Seattle to rest his sore hamstring.The Mariners are expected to use a string of relievers on Friday, although no pitcher had been designated to start as of Thursday night.Mariners center fielder Mitch Haniger has led off the past three games with a base hit, lifting Seattle’s batting average to .357 leading off games this season, the best mark in the majors.Haniger’s first-inning double Thursday night was his 61st extra-base hit this season. He’s the first Seattle player with at least 60 extra-base hits in a season since Raul Ibanez had 69 in 2008.Seattle first baseman Ryon Healy, who went 0-for-3 with an RBI on Thursday night, has been one of the team’s hottest hitters the past month. The Southern California native is hitting .305 in the past 23 games with three home runs and 15 RBIs.Angels center fielder Mike Trout has been even hotter, hitting .369 with seven home runs and 14 RBIs in his past 25 games. He went 2-for-3 with two doubles Thursday night.“We hit some balls hard,” Angels manager Mike Scioscia told reporters after the game.