Bryce Harper is great example of my point. Sure he’s had some very good seasons. But he has never even been remotely close to the near 10 WAR he achieved in his age 22 Season. Last year was actually the closest he has been and was still more than 3 WAR off his total.
So far Vlad has had one crazy outlier season otherwise he’s been who he was for his other 3 MLB seasons. I don’t know why we are assuming because of his age that he will ever achieve that level of elite again. And paying for that now seems foolish knowing how much control he still has and projecting the kind of contract he would command now compared to in 3 years would probably be similar if not less depending on how he performs.
The window for an early Vlad contract extension expired a long time ago. You’re now paying a premium regardless of when you choose to sign him. I don’t think they should be in any hurry to rush that decision.