In all likelihood Frank White 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, 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 http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-joakim-soria-jersey , 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, 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 Kelvin Herrera Jersey , 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, 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 http://www.royalsfanproshop.com/authentic-alcides-escobar-jersey , 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, 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. HOUSTON — The Astros on Saturday added outfielder Myles Straw to the big-league roster with one primary objective: to utilize his exceptional speed on the basepaths as a pinch-runner.He may have the opportunity to continue doing that Sunday, when Houston hosts the Arizona Diamondbacks in the finale of their three-game series.Over 131 games across two levels in the minors, Straw posted 70 stolen bases and an 88.6 percent success rate. He produced 35 steals apiece for Double-A Corpus Christi and Triple-A Fresno.Article continues below ...“Speed is the most obvious thing that he adds,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “You get into the type of (pennant) race that we’re in, you get into playoff-caliber baseball, any small advantage can be a big advantage. He’s an elite baserunner. His instincts are good, he’s a good outfielder. “His second half hasn’t gone as well as his first half offensively. We’re not going to ask a ton out of him playing-wise other than be an elite baserunner when we need it the most.”By limiting his responsibilities, the Astros (93-55), who evened the interleague set with a 10-4 victory Saturday Jason Hammel Jersey , believe Straw can adjust quickly.“We’re literally asking him to take his best skill set on the bases and apply it to the major league level,” Hinch said of Straw, who pinch-ran in the seventh inning. “One of the reasons we feel comfortable with him in these last couple weeks is his instincts. And certainly, he’ll be a little bit nervous the first couple times out but we’re asking him to focus on one thing primarily, and that can ease a little bit of that stress that comes with getting into the big leagues.”Right-hander Justin Verlander (15-9, 2.72 ERA) will start the series finale for the Astros. Verlander has posted 10 double-digit strikeout games this season and is 11 strikeouts shy of matching his single-season high of 269 set in 2009 with the Detroit Tigers.He is 3-1 with a 2.36 ERA over four career starts against Arizona, including a 3-1 loss on May 6 at Chase Field when he surrendered two runs (one earned) on three hits and three walks with eight strikeouts over six innings. Verlander is 2-0 with a 1.93 ERA and 18 strikeouts over 14 innings this month.The Diamondbacks (78-71) will counter with right-hander Zack Greinke (14-9, 3.11 ERA). Greinke is 7-2 with a 2.75 ERA over his last 11 road starts and 5-4 with a 2.43 ERA in his last 11 interleague starts.He is 6-2 with a 2.24 ERA over 10 career starts against the Astros. He did not factor into the decision May 5 when he allowed one run on five hits and two walks with five strikeouts over 5 2/3 innings in a 4-3 victory at Chase Field.Arizona on Saturday selected right-hander Randall Delgado from Triple-A Reno and placed right-hander Clay Buchholz on the 60-day disabled list (right elbow flexor strain). Delgado appeared in six games for the Diamondbacks this season, going 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA before being designated for assignment July 25, released six days later, and re-signed to a minor league contract Aug. 18. He posted a 0.93 ERA over five games with Reno after his signing before finishing with a 2.00 ERA in 13 contests.“We’re all super excited to have him back,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “We need an arm and he had been keeping himself in shape and talking about going to winter ball.“We know what Randall is all about. Stuff-wise he was trending toward the Randall that we remember at the end of the minor league season so he’s going to get the ball. My expectations are that we’re going to use him in different situations, maybe not high-leverage right now, but different situations to stop momentum and get big outs for us.”The Diamondbacks are four games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West and 3 1/2 back of Colorado for the final NL wild-card spot.