One of the biggest marquee free agents this offseason in baseball has finally come to his decision on where he wants to play baseball. The name of Bryce Harper will be wearing a red, white, and blue jersey this upcoming season and not to the team you may be thinking. Bryce Harper will be bringing his talents down to South Philadelphia and not in Washington, D.C. There have been other teams linked to Bryce Harper as well such as the Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants. Bryce is a hot commodity; he is a former 2015 National League MVP. All eyes have been on Harper’s free agency dating back to the start of the 2018 season.
The Phillies have already had one of the busiest off seasons for any MLB team in recent memory. In addition to the Harper bombshell dropped on Thursday afternoon, they have also traded for All- Star catcher J.T. Realmuto and All-Star shortstop Jean Segura, and signed former MVP outfielder Andrew McCutchen and stud relief pitcher David Robertson in free agency. The Phillies, led by owner John Middleton put their money where their mouth is, and the team could very well be the favorites to win the NL East and potentially the NL as a result. The Phillies are unlikely to make any more big moves this offseason. I got the chance to catch up with a local student at bucks that goes by the name of Carlos Piedrahita and I got to ask him what does he think about the Bryce Harper signing, he said “It is a sigh of relief, now we have a chance of making it to the playoffs.” I also got the chance to ask him if he thinks the Phillies will win a championship this upcoming season. Carlos response was “I think the Phillies will win the championship this season because of their outstanding team.”
Bryce Harper inked a 13 year deal worth 330 million dollars with the Philadelphia Phillies. Bryce will now be the highest paid athlete in baseball outlasting Giancarlo Stanton’s 325 million dollar contract that he signed with the New York Yankees. The Phillies on this hand wanted to give Harper an opt out clause within his final two to three year deal but Bryce had other things in mind and decided he did not want one. Harper’s deal includes a 20 million signing bonus with no deferred money. He will also receive a money bonus if he wins another MVP and makes the All Star team. It was reported by the Washington Post that the Washington Nationals offered a deferred money over 100 million and would have paid him until he was 60 years old.
The biggest acquisition has yet to come (speaking in to existence) Mike Trout can become a free agent after the 2020 season and because Trout is from New Jersey and grew up a fan of philly sports, there has been many speculation throughout his career that he could eventually move to his favorite team. I asked the same student Carlos Piedrahita if he thinks the Phillies will be able to get Mike Trout in 2020 offseason he said “Yeah, I believe so it’s no secret he loves his philly teams.” Another thing that Carlos and I discussed was what does he think is the weakest aspect of the Phillies team. Carlos went on to say “The pitching defiantly needs some work.” Even with after signing Bryce Harper the Phillies remain below baseball’s luxury tax threshold, which imposes a tax on high payroll teams. That is mainly because the Phillies have a relatively young roster and have few long term contract obligations to veteran players. Rumors will swirl regarding Trout’s relationship with Philadelphia either until he becomes a free agent or signs an extension with the Los Angeles Angels.