Philadelphia Phillies competing with Los Angeles Dodgers again for Bryce Harper
By Dan Parzych
All of a sudden, it looks like the Los Angeles Dodgers are back in the race to potentially land Bryce Harper, meaning the Philadelphia Phillies have some extra competition.
To say the rumors surrounding the possibility of Bryce Harper joining the Philadelphia Phillies are dragging on would be a huge understatement since each time it appears to be on the verge of happening, something else always takes place.
Between Manny Machado agreeing to join the San Diego Padres along with some reports indicating a decision would be made last week, the wait continues over figuring out where Harper will end up for the 2019 season.
While the Phillies and their fans have been trying to be extra patient over Harper taking his time on a decision, there seems to be a little bit of concern over another team getting back into the sweepstakes in the Los Angeles Dodgers, who reportedly met with the outfielder Sunday night.
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In recent weeks, Philadelphia knew there were other teams such as the Padres or San Francisco Giants, but as much as they don’t want to hear it, Los Angeles could become a serious threat, especially if Harper is considering a short-term deal.
The Los Angeles Dodgers re-engaged with Bryce Harper’s camp two weeks ago seeking a shorter-term deal, sources tell @RamonaShelburne and me. On heels of @JesseSanchezMLB report the parties met Sunday in Las Vegas, question becomes whether either side will move toward the other.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 25, 2019
Worth remembering if Bryce Harper's decision comes down to a choice between long-term megadeal with Phillies or a short-term deal with the Dodgers: He's made almost $50m in salary to this point in his career, plus endorsements.
— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 25, 2019
Just like that, if Phillies fans were already stressed and annoyed over this whole Harper situation before, one can only imagine what the next couple of days are going to be like if this new talk surrounding the Dodgers begins to heat up.
Early on in the offseason, Los Angeles was considered a favorable landing spot for Harper not just from a competitive standpoint since the Dodgers have been contenders for years, but also the potential preference of playing in the West Coast.
The chances of a potential deal getting done in the next day or so seemed high after John Middleton flew out to Las Vegas this past weekend to try hammering out an agreement with Harper, but it looks like things are going to become a little more difficult for the Phillies.
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Sooner or late, Harper will finally need to reach a decision over which team he prefers to play for in 2019. But if news breaks that Philadelphia missed out on Harper as a result of Los Angeles, one can only imagine the reaction by the Phillies fan base after all this time spent waiting since this situation dragging on longer than it should have has already been frustrating enough.