Bryce Harper should prefer Phillies over Padres from a contender standpoint

Even though the San Diego Padres have recently expressed interest in Bryce Harper, the Philadelphia Phillies still seem like a better fit for the outfielder.

Sooner or later, Bryce Harper will need to finally choose which team he wants to play for during the 2019 season, as the Philadelphia Phillies would love nothing more than to be declared the winners of the sweepstakes to land the star outfielder.

Back at the beginning of January, the Phillies actually met with Harper in Las Vegas, and while everything seemed to go great between the two parties, there really haven’t been any updates other than a random rumor from time to time.

Without question, the addition of a talented player like Harper would take Philadelphia’s chances to compete for a World Series title to a whole new level after looking at the impact made over the years as a member of the Washington Nationals.

At the moment, many believe the Phillies are the clear-cut favorites to land Harper since they appear to be a good fit, and have the kind of money he’s looking to earn in a hefty contract. But since nothing is set in stone at the moment, Philadelphia knows nothing is guaranteed when it comes to Harper, especially since the San Diego Padres have been trying to get in on the action as well.

Turns out, the Padres actually met with Harper last Thursday, and have even expressed interest in meeting with Manny Machado as well at some point, showing they too mean business when it comes to making a giant leap to serious contender during the 2019 season.

The fact that San Diego only won 66 games last year shows how much of a work in progress they are heading into the 2019 season, and while the team has a few key players like Will Myers to work with, the addition of someone like Harper certainly wouldn’t solve all their problems.

From Harper’s perspective, the outfielder’s next destination should be a team with a legitimate shot to compete for a World Series title, which means if he were to compare the Phillies and Padres, this would be a no brainer.

Baseball fans remember well that back in August, Philadelphia was actually in contention for a playoff spot in the National League before their epic collapse during the final two months of the regular season.

Still, as frustrating as this was to see for Phillies fans, this also shows how much potential this young team has when it comes to one day becoming a serious contender again, and it’s safe to assume that Harper has noticed some of their underrated moves this offseason.

With all due respect to San Diego, Philadelphia would seem like the much better option if Harper were to choose between the two since they appear to have a much better shot at earning a playoff spot once fall rolls around.

And even though Harper hasn’t indicated this happens to be the case, the Phillies know the Padres have been added to the competition list over potential teams they have to worry about signing the star outfielder once he does finally decide to make a choice.