Bryce Harper to Start 2012 Season in the Minor Leagues

It seems Bryce Harper isn't quite ready for the big leagues just yet... we're just going to have to wait a month or two to see a preposterous amount of eye black smeared all over his adorable face.

The Washington Nationals cut four players on Sunday, sending the outfielder along with them to the minors. Harper will begin the 2012 season with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, where he'll sign a whole lot of autographs before taking center field.

Unusually humble, Harper had this to say about his demotion:

"I'm just going to take it, and go down there and work hard and try to get up here as quick as I can... Of course you want to come in here and make the team every year. Hopefully, that’s the last time I’ll get sent down. But it’s what happened. I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s okay."

The 19-year-old rookie, who is converting from catcher to outfielder, went 5-for-11 to start spring training, but was just three for his last 17 with 11 strikeouts. Looks like he needs a bit more seasoning.

Aside from Harper just not being ready fundamentally, Dave Sheinin of Nationals Journal pointed this out among other things:

"If the Nationals keep him in the minors for about a month, they get an extra year of his services — in fact, his age-25 season — before he reaches free agency. If they keep him down for about three months, they can save millions of dollars in a few years by keeping him from reaching arbitration eligibility early."

Sneaky stuff Mike Rizzo.

[Nationals Journal]