MLB Rumors: Phillies Likely Destination for Bryce Harper After the 2018 Season
The Philadelphia Phillies is currently the team with the best chance to sign up Bryce Harper during this offseason. With the team looking to have one of the lowest payrolls this season, the Phillies have the money issue convincingly dealt with.
Harper, 25 years old, is now with the Washington Nationals who will be struggling to lock him up given the current status of their payroll. That's not a problem that the Phillies will be having this trade season, as Fanrag Sports' Jon Heyman pointed out.
The Phillies have plenty of space and money to pull off a deal. The team is big on revenue, and a huge TV contract doesn't hurt, too. Getting a notable player like Harper will only improve them, plus Philadelphia is not that far off from Washington, either.
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This may be the chance that the Phillies have been waiting for ever since they turned their back on their big-spending ways by rebuilding and cutting down on salary under their new leadership. It will be all worth it this offseason if they nab some of the big free agency names after the 2018 season, Harper among them.
He would be a good addition to the new acquisitions by the Phillies this winter, when they added Carlos Santana, Pat Neshek and Tommy Hunter in a series of deals.
Harper is young, with almost no salary commitments, and the Phillies look to be the frontrunner in terms of signing him up, as NJ Sports pointed out. His talent as a slugger is undeniable, having launched 150 home runs and a 0.902 career On-base plus slugging (OPS) since he first came into the league in 2012.
Last season, he posted 1.008 OPS over 420 times at bat with the Nationals.
