Rumors surrounding Bryce Harper possibly joining Philadelphia Phillies heat up

Could Bryce Harper end up joining the Philadelphia Phillies this offseason during free agency?

With the offseason in full swing, all eyes in the City of Brotherly Love are focused on the Philadelphia Phillies at the moment to see if they have what it takes to land a star player, with most of the attention being on Bryce Harper or Manny Machado.

Dating back to the 2018 regular season, the Phillies have been linked to both Harper and Machado not just because of the idea of joining a contender since that is far from the case, but due to the hefty contract they would most likely be able to receive.

As bad as it sounds, one of the positive factors surrounding Philadelphia being a team going through rebuilding mode over the last couple of years is they have a ton of money to spend in free agency.

In fact, when looking at how the 2019 free agency class has received plenty of hype for a couple of years, it’s easy to understand why there’s so much excitement when it comes to the Phillies, especially if they can land someone like Harper or Machado.

Speaking of Harper, the star outfielder has been quite the popular topic of discussion when the news came out that he turned down a $300 million offer from the Washington Nationals back in September. And when seeing how Bob Nightengale is willing to “bank on” the Phillies being the winners of the Harper sweepstakes this offseason, fans can only hope that it’s only a matter of time before this comes true.

Some will try to make the case that Harper joining a team like Philadelphia may not be in his best interest when it comes to wanting to win a World Series, but also keep in mind the Phillies was a surprise contender for most of last year until things fell apart in August.

With a strong rotation led by Aaron Nola and Jake Arrieta along with Rhys Hoskins seeming like a player that’s only going to get better with experience, there’s a lot of potential surrounding this Phillies team heading into 2019, whether it looks that way or not.

Throw Harper into the mix, one can only imagine what the potential surrounding this team is going to be like. But before getting too excited, Philadelphia fans just need to be patient since there will be a few other teams competing with them to sign Harper as well.

Then again, when looking at Nightengale’s confidence in Harper choosing the Phillies, how are fans supposed to contain all of their excitement?