Sounds like he was taking a close look at Machado's lack of hustle on the bases. That's certainly one thing you can't fault Harper on, is his ability to hustle, sometimes to an extreme when he crashes into walls chasing down fly balls. That would be my one concern, his ability to stay healthy and not get hurt so much. And as much as I don't like 10 yr deals, he would be 36 at the end, not 39 - 40 like ARod was. If you get 8 or 9 good years out of him, that extra year would be a throw away and you could possibly buy him out of it. But starting pitching still has to be the main focus.