Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesThe Washington Nationals' ownersh

ip group "refused to approve" a trade involving Bryce Harper the day before MLB's July 31 non-waiver trade deadline Dwight Gooden Jersey , The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal reported Saturday.According to Rosenthal, the Nationals had a preliminary agreement in place with the Houston Astros before the deal was scuttled.Rosenthal wrote the Nationals would've received minor league pitcher J.B. Bukauskas. The right-hander is the No. 8 prospect in the Houston minor league system, per MLB.com, and finished 4-2 with a 2.14 ERA in 14 appearances across five levels.Two other prospects would've joined Bukauskas in the trade.Rosenthal reported the Nationals owners decided against trading Harper because they "feared that trading him would harm their relationship with the player and reduce their chances of signing him."It's impossible to say whether Harper's presence would've resulted in a different outcome in the American League Championship Series. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Astros in five games, scoring 27 runs as they reeled off four straight victories to claim the AL pennant. Boston succeeded in attacking the Houston pitchers, so Harper may not have changed anything.The Astros weren't the only World Series contender to make a play for Harper. The Los Angeles Times' Jorge Castillo reported Wednesday the Los Angeles Dodgers offered Yasiel Puig in a trade package to no avail.The Washington Post's Chelsea Janes reported Wednesday the Nationals offered Harper $300 million over 10 years in late September but that the 26-year-old turned it down.If Harper signs elsewhere, then Rosenthal's and Castillo's reports could put more heat on the Nationals. Losing Harper would be a tough blow for the franchise, and the fanbase may grow even more frustrated with the knowledge Washington could've flipped Harper for prospects or an everyday MLB outfielder. If he departs http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , the Nats would only get back a compensation draft pick. That’s one way of doing business, I suppose."We found out on Wednesday that Cincinnati Reds starter Matt Harvey had been claimed by an unknown team after being placed on revocable waivers, and we later discovered that their own NL Central rivals from Milwaukee were the team that had done the claiming. That gave the Reds and Brewers exactly 48 hours to negotiate a potential deal, and with the deadline for those negotiations ending early Friday afternoon, it seems the Reds will not be trading Harvey to anyone after all. Both The Enquirer’s Bobby Nightengale and The Athletic’s C. Trent Rosecrans had the news.Needless to say, this is a bit flabbergasting.For one, Harvey is going to be a free agent at season’s end, meaning this is the final chance the Reds have to actually trade him and get something Jesus Aguilar Jersey , anything of value in return. On top of that, they had the option to simply let he and the roughly $1.1 million remaining on his salary go to Milwaukee, which they also opted against doing despite being mired in last place in the division once again with several of their top position players on the shelf.Beyond just the Harvey transaction decision, keeping him in the current six man rotation further damages the chances of seeing what the likes of Lucas Sims, Tyler Mahle, or Cody Reed could do in starting spots as the season dwindles down, which doesn’t make a whole lot of sense on the surface. In fact, the only way any of this makes any sense at all is if the Reds wholeheartedly are going to attempt to keep Harvey around beyond 2018 with a contract extension - or simply signing him this offseason as a free agent - which is a concept that’s both a) a confusing one given Harvey no longer really being a top of the rotation starter and b) a complicated one given that he’s represented by top-dollar agent Scott Boras.Truth be told http://www.brewersfanproshop.com/authentic-orlando-arcia-jersey , it’s similar in many ways to where the club was exactly one year ago with then All Star shortstop Zack Cozart, who ultimately wrapped his career year with the Reds and walked in free agency, netting the team nothing more than a few solid months of last-place stats in the process.There’s bound to be some bit of further strategy here that simply isn’t visible from the surface. Otherwise, it’s just the latest in a string of seemingly questionable decisions.