There is a strong likelihood that Mike Rizzo will sit down with Bryce Harper and Scott Boras to discuss a possible contract extension before the season, the Washington Nationals general manager says.

Harper is currently slated for free agency after the 2018 season.

The belief for quite some time has been that Harper will receive a contract worth more than $400 million. Boras has a history of taking his star clients into free agency to let the open market decide their value.

"I am not going to assume he is that kind of Boras client that gets out into the marketplace," Rizzo said. "I feel like I have a great relationship with Bryce and his family since he was 16 [Harper was the first overall pick by the Nats in 2010]. This organization has a very good relationship with the Boras Corporation. [Negotiations] have not begun. There are no plans for it to happen. There is no time and date. But knowing the relationships all around, I would be surprised if we did not explore it at some point."

The Nationals signed Stephen Strasburg, another Boras client, to a seven-year, $175 million extension a few months before he was scheduled to become a free agent in 2016.