Washington Nationals owner Mark Lerner seems resigned to the fact that Bryce Harper will be signing elsewhere this winter.

At Nationals Park introducing pitcher Patrick Corbin on Friday, Lerner spoke at length with 106.7 radio about the chances of Harper returning to Washington. Harper declined a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Nationals in September.

"When we met with them and we gave them the offer, we told them, 'This is the best we can do.' We went right to the finish line very quickly," Lerner said. "And we said, 'If this is of interest to you, please come back to us and we'll see whether we can finish it up.' But we just couldn't afford to put more than that in and still be able to put a team together that had a chance to win the NL East or go farther than that."

Harper was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2010 draft. He won the NL Rookie of the Year award in 2012, the NL MVP award in 2015 and has been an All-Star in six of his seven seasons in the majors.

"I really don't expect him to come back at this point. I think they've decided to move on. There's just too much money out there that he'd be leaving on the table," Lerner said. "That's just not (agent Scott) Boras' MO to leave money on the table."

The 26-year-old could fetch the largest contract in baseball history, a mark currently held by the 13-year, $325 million deal that Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Miami Marlins.

"If they choose some other place, I totally understand," Lerner said. "It's the opportunity of a lifetime for Bryce and (wife) Kayla and their family. But we have no hard feelings about it, I must say. I love Bryce and he was a good teammate here. If he chooses to go some place else, I totally understand it, but we put one heck of an offer out there."

Harper has been with the organization since he was 17 years old and has been a key part of the club's success this decade, including four postseason appearances.

"This was a special six years. And he'll still be iconic in the city, when he comes in playing for another team. We'll do right by him and have a real ceremony. You can't be mad at him, and I don't think he'd be mad at us if we can't go any further."