remained unsigned late into the offseason: "Over the previous two seasons entering free agency, Machado ranked 23 in Wins Above Replacement for position players and Harper ranked 67."

What I didn't take into account was the immediately following sentence: "Machado signed for $300 million and Harper signed for $330 million not because of WAR but because of market forces, including 1) neither the Padres nor Phillies had fielded a winning team in at least seven years, causing a dangerous erosion of their fan bases, 2) competitive bidding from at least one other club, 3) both players were 26 years old, and 4) both players were durable with elite seasons and “star power” on their resume." (I take some issue with describing Harper is "durable," but oh well.)

Here was my post from back in February: https://www.cougarboard.com/board/message.html?id=21200978.