"When Bryce Harper signed, nobody had a gun to his head" - Ex-Phillies GM on Juan Soto's potential fit, earning $170,000,000 more than 2x NL MVP

The Philadelphia Phillies haven't joined the race to sign marquee free agent Juan Soto yet but may have to offer him about $170 million more than what they paid for Bryce Harper, their current highest-paid player. Jim Salisbury and Tim Zolecki of 'The Phillies Show' feel that the two-time MVP might not be happy with the ownership if Soto becomes the top earner on the roster.

However, former general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. dismissed that notion, even if he believes it will be a complicated situation for the front office to deal with. On 'The Phillies Show' on the Foul Territory Network on Thursday, Amaro said that Bryce Harper should have no reason to complain if the Phillies offer Juan Soto more money than him.

"The reality of it was when Bryce Harper signed that contract, no one had a gun to his head," he said. "He was the guy that signed the contract willingly. He wanted to stay in Philly. He had the no-trade (clause). He didn't want to go anywhere. He's got no opt-outs in there. That was the decision that he made. So, a contract is a contract, as far as I am concerned.

"It's not like the NBA or the NFL, where you can opt out if you're allowed to opt out or you asked to come out of it. That's the beauty of guaranteed money. That it's guaranteed. So, if he flops, or gets hurt, or whatever the case may be, he still gets paid. But it is complicated. It is very complicated."

Bryce Harper joined the Phillies on a 13-year, $330 million contract, which was the largest deal offered in the MLB at the time.

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Ruben Amaro Jr feels Bryce Harper won't have issue with Juan Soto becoming top earner for Phillies

Juan Soto was teammates with Bryce Harper during his rookie season with the Nationals (Photo Credit: Imagn)

According to Ruben Amaro Jr., Bryce Harper would have no issue if the Philadelphia Phillies make Juan Soto their highest-paid player as long as it provides the team with a greater chance of winning the World Series.

He recounted a similar situation from his tenure with the Phillies front office when the team wanted to add Cliff Lee to their starting rotation even though they had promised their ace, Roy Halladay, that he would remain their top earner.

"I told Roy, 'You are going to be our highest-paid player we have.' Two years later, I am bringing Lee on that," he said. "Now I talked with him and discussed with him prior, just let him know that we were in the midst of having that negotiation. He was like, 'I don't care, man. Do whatever you got to do to make this team be a winner.'

"That was, sort of, the beauty of Roy Halladay. But I don't know what the psyche of a guy like Harper would be in this situation," he added. "I would assume he'll say, 'Hey, get the best player you know so we can bring that trophy back.'"

Juan Soto and Bryce Harper were teammates for the Washington Nationals during the 2018 season and share the same agent, Scott Boras.