Newest Phillie Bryce Harper will be available to the media at his introductory press conference today at 2pm EST in Clearwater, Florida. You can watch the press conference live on MLB.com and MLBNetwork.
Along with Harper and agent Scott Boras, GM Matt Klentak and managing partner John Middleton will be present and available to the media from the top of the first base dugout at Spectrum Field, where the press conference is taking place. The Phillies gave word of their 13-year union with Harper via tweet yesterday.
In a separate press release, the Phillies officially announced the signing. The Phillies title Harper “one of the premier players in Major League Baseball” and “a multi-media star” while often referencing Harper’s age alongside his varied career accomplishments.
Harper himself tweeted a photo of the new cover for Sony’s MLB the Show 19, on which he appears in his new Phillies garb. After wearing number 34 in Washington, Harper will switch to number three in Philadelphia.
Check out a roundup of MLBTR’s Notes & Observations from the Harper signing here, or find out what the readers think of the new deal with this MLBTR Poll.
Trade for trout
Why would Phila, or Harper agree to something this stupid, Philadelphia just needs to allow the clock to run out on Trout’s contract and give him another massive contract. Its going to happen patience is a virtue.
I’m kind of more mad at the Angels not giving us Harper+Trout together sooner but it will be fun to see them both on the same team that won’t win any titles with them together lol
Much like your handle .. that scenario would be a strike four
Boooooooooooooop!
NL EAST OUTFIELD POWER RANKINGS:
1. Soto-Robles-Eaton
2. Acuna-Inciarte-Markakis
3. Cespedes/McNeil/Broxton/Lagares-Nimmo-Conforto
4. Harper-Herrera-McCutchen
Have a nice day yall!!!
Lol. The Mets outfield is not better than the Phillies. We’ll be lucky to see Cespedes play at all. The McNeil experiment could be a disaster.
I’ll give you the Nats and Braves of course, but keep in mind before the Harper signing the Phillies were going to platoon Williams/Altherr. So you can’t tell me Harper isn’t a huge improvement.
Lmao! You’re on drugs.
The Phillies OF will come close to 90 HRs total in that park. Hell, Nick Williams is better than 1/2 of the guys starting in NL East..
That Nats OF will only produce whatever power that Soto Provides.
Robles is Billy Hamilton… he’s a bust. Eaton is worth 1.0 WAR…without power in a corner OF positon … which renders him basically useless.
Braves – Markakis is toast…Inciarte is league avg, at best
Mets…Cespedes is useless… who are the other 6 guys????
Strop being Salty and just let it play out.
Robles may prove to be a bust but given that he’s already hit twice the number of MiLB home runs that Hamilton hit in only three-fourths the number of at bats, it’s safe to say he’s not Billy Hamilton.
Sadly, your analysis of Williams is just as poorly-thought out (although it’s questionable you genuinely put much thought into it). Williams had an atrocious 2018, earning a negative WAR despite the fact he played in 140 games. He is essentially a platoon player and is as bad a RF as Bryce is a CF. If they had confidence in Nick Williams, he wouldn’t be on the way out.
Only 1 of those outfields include 2 former mvps
Rip downvote
Still depends whether or not Herrera can bounce back, especially not that he has started the spring off with an injury.
Also the Mets outfield is NOT better than the Phillies.
Dodgers are going to sign Trout
Is Xabial going to be in attendance?
The NL East OF Rankings are ridiculous.
Phillies with Harper and some backups. Number Four is correct.
Braves are Number one if Inciarte can hit more and Markakis keeps hitting like he did last year. Acuna is decent bu t unproven. Lots of ifs, but I give them Number one based on last year.
Nationals are Number three because they lost Harper and Soto has to do it a whole year and Robles is unproven. Eaton has never been great and is often hurt.
The Mets have two solid outfielders in Conforto and Nimmo. The Mets with Cespedes would be number one. But that isn’t happening. So they are number two.
The Phillies still have a lot of offensive holes to fill.
Stop with the nonsense. You must be a Nats fan trying to stir up problems. Save it for the field
Wow based on the crowds I didn’t think anybody actually liked the Phillies. All I ever hear are Eagles chants.
257 consecutive sellouts from 2009-2012. Third longest in baseball history. People must really hate the Phillies
Standing room only tix will likely be back into effect but this time around, they probably won’t be $10.
They were good in those year.
Minus 2012 when the wheels came off.
The reality is that they sold out easily because they were good and the stadium holds less than 4,ooo fans.
Kind of how the Nats crowd will look after the All star break until 2023… when your rebuild is over? …and you won’t even have Redskins chants at that point? Hey, maybe you can do Wizards chants!
Now is the time for everybody jump on the bandwagon. Act like a Phillies fan you never have been. About like when the cubs won the World Series all of a sudden everybody’s wearing Chicago Cubs Gear.
Looking forward to catching a Spring Training game now that he is in town.
No one cares
Get a room
Okay?
Here we go ….
Then why are you here?
Good to officially get Harper underway. His next Phillies press conference will be when he’s traded in 5-6 years – no trade clause or not.
Hater
… nervous? Harper and the Phillies is like a 45-year-old dating a 25-year-old. It’s cute at first, but each will soon lose interest. The contract, in terms of AAV, is entirely tradeable – smart move by the Phillies. The no-trade-clause is just Harper taking the long route to the west coast.
The Dodgers are totally going to give up quality prospects for that back end of the deal lol
Giants fan?
Giants fans are dealing with other issues atm
Not a rumor… next
Philadelphia will land Trout in a couple years, Philadelphia is going to be a hot landing spot for free agents in every sport. TBH, Best fans in the country. The trick to winning them over is play hard, pretty easy, isn’t how a guy like Bryce Harper got his 330 million dollar mega contract in the first place. People need to stop taking shots at this city, you sound desperate and petty, and in this case it didn’t work?
Only reason Harper is going to philly is because yankees had 0 interest.
Oh because the Yankees always get their targets?
Yes … And I’m a Sox Fan
His first choice was New York just like Machado
No but Harper always wanted yankees from day one why do u think it took it till almost March to sign, because he was hoping yankees would enter the mix but they never did
The question is do the Yankee always get their targets, I’m sure you have a normal comprehension level, and you do understand how agent Scott Boras would want the Yankees involved in negotiations to one of his client?
Well not when the Phillies Are involved. Remember the “Merry Cliffmas” signing. Phillies stole that one from the Yankees. So the answer is most definitely NO.
How’d that work out with Corbin?
I think it was the Dodgers but they don’t want to do 10 years with anyone.
@cscd1111
no need to be a jerk about it
Just like Cliff Lee and David Robertson, right? Oh wait…they chose Philly over the Yankees. That’s impossible…
Oh my god … Shut up guy …
“Playing hard” is why Bryce has missed 20% of games over 7 years.
It’s funny that the opposite of playing hard is playing smart. What’s the opposite of smart again? 🙂
Yeah they’re the best at taking personal shots that cross the line. The best at being fat slobs. The best at camo shorts and tribal tattoos.
Jeez so many bitter pills so early on a Saturday morning? I’m just stoked he’s in the fold and baseball can move on and sign the rest of the fa’s…
Trade for LHP Robbie Ray (2 yrs left), sign LHP Keuchel for 3 yrs. Or take on Greinke to reduce what you’ve gotta give up for Ray. Yea its 3 yrs at 35 M so Altherr and Hernandez salaries have to go back in a trade (9M) and AZ has to kick in some cash like 5-10M per year.
Take all of your prospects, try them all out at CF, 2B, 3B. Whoever looks the best keep. Rest available for trade.
I’m sure the Giants would take Hernandez or Altherr off your hands, if mainly for salary relief.
Or just give Kimbrel 5/90 he will probably take it and he makes that bullpen crazy good.
I like your logic with a few exceptions. They can’t trade Cesar. They need a guy who gets on base ahead of Harper. I expect his BA to go back where it should be and the walks to remain high. Harper gets more fastballs with Hernandez on first.. Arizona wants youth. Scott Kingery is from Phoenix. I would be thrilled if the D’backs would take Altherr over Williams. Throw in a young pitcher and get cash back with Greinke and I’ll like the deal Keuchel pitching at CBP concerns me. a little but I would like a lefty in the rotation even they settle for Gio.. I’m ready to see some baseball. Don’t get MLB network where I’m at right now.
Segura is the guy who gets on base ahead of Harper. Caesar is the guy who hits before the pitcher.
Von, most likely, Cesar leads off followed by Segura,..
3,4 and 5 could be in any order Hoskins, Harper and Realmuto..
no idea where McCutchen, Franco or Goofy hit
I can see that.
too many lefty outfielders.
Goofy, Williams, Cozens, and Harper..
Two have to go…The Phils love the raw power of Cozens..plus, that big guy can flat out run..Altherr has the best glove of the group..if Roman Quinn was able to stay on the field, then, Goofy Herrera would be traded..
Greinke doesn’t have the mindset to survive playing in this market. He would be eaten alive.
A generational talent indeed!
Anyone else’s sarcasm meter going off ?
Yeah because just anyone can have a 10 WAR season and OPS .900 over 7 years.
God, I get it, you hate Boras, but Harper has always been a HOFer since Day 1.
And that 10 WAR and OPS of 900 has netted the Nats how many playoff series wins. Admit it, he’s a cancer.
Yep, like Ted Williams and Ernie Banks. Cancers. They could never lead their teams to the promised land.
(to be fair, Ted Williams was a jerk)
Aha that means he’s a cancer? Admit it 2id, Trout, Goldschmidt, Arenado, Stanton, Scherzer, Votto are all cancers. Get a clue man, that’s a terrible take.
You put Bryce Harper in the same sentence as Ernie Banks and Ted Williams. Bruh…
Nope. The size of his ego means he’s a cancer. Not hustling and getting called out by Papelbon who had actually won something. That’s cancerous.
You literally know nothing. Stop acting like you’re a major league player and have any idea what he’s like. You’re embarrassing yourself with the narrative you’ve made in your head.
Jon Papelbon? The guy so beloved he was out of the game at age 35 because literally nobody wanted him? He was a huge jerk and everyone who ever played with him hated him.
Remember to smile Bryce!!!
And remember to mention that Philly was your landing spot all along. You just wanted to know what SF and LA had to offer.
Good luck from a Philly fan.
No, Philly wanted Harper the most, his own opinion was probably to be closer to Vegas where he lives, which is LA/SD.
If you told me Philly and SD would get the big 2 FAs I’d believe it, but almost no one thought it would be like this. Maikel Franco is terrible, Manny was always a better fit in Philly and Harper in SD. But hey, maybe Philly will trade for Manny when he inevitably gets tired of playing in that boring town that never ever won anything lol
@ Strike Four…””””Maikel Franco is terrible””””
2018. .270 and 22 home runs..just terrible..
Strike Five
Franco is ridiculously underrated for some reason. He’s going to be a stud in this new lineup and his fielding has vastly improved.
Manny would have replaced Franco. Harper replaces Williams/Altherr. Harper was the better fit for sure.
And Philly is a much better option? Be right back while I go eat on cheesesteaks and Hershey bars to beat the depression out of me.
“Phillies to Introduce Bryce Harper.” That’s good, because I kept seeing all these articles about him. Who is this Bryce Harper fellow?
Hockey player, checkout his stats
“Who is this Bryce Harper fellow?” said a man on a baseball site who apparently doesn’t know anything about baseball!
(I know thats not your goal with this terrible post, but its how it reads!)
Strike six
Not everyone has an irony detector.
Phillies deserve to have a good year. Congratulations with the Harper signing.
The Braves will still win the division.
What a horrible contract
Aren’t they all horrible contracts?
This one pays for itself. There is electricity in the air surrounding the Phillies again. With the stacked lineup they have now, with Trout being added later, if the team pulls in a championship or 2 while contending, and he helps bridge the gap with veteran leadership to the next core, yeah it’s a steal in terms of ROI for Steinbrenner… I mean Middleton.
The guys just increased the worth of his franchise, put more fannies in the seats, even for games against the Marlins. Don’t worry about the Phillies. You should worry why your teams owners and FO can’t pull off what the Phillies just did. Do they want to win?
You just signed a corner outfielder through the next 13 years who hit .250 last year. Perhaps it’s fair market value for some players, but it’s too much money for Bryce. Unless stats ain’t your thing. Enjoy it. Congratulations on already getting Trout, somebody should probably let him know.
Stats must not be your thing Shane. Especially if batting average is what you use to justify a contract.
Call me crazy but I believe it’s relevant. 1.3 War last year. What are sold on, his defence? But if you want to justify his contract on his hair and the fact that he’s 26 be my guest.
I’m not saying the guy shouldn’t get paid, I’m just saying it’s too much for too long. Especially in a league with no DH.
So you are going to ignore his MVP season at age 22? His OBP? His OPS? Are you going to ignore how his stats convert to CBP vs the Nationals stadium…. Pretty convenient, not to mention the contract is paid based upon expected future performance vs past performance… He’s a tip for you. Vegas has a hr total for Harper set at 32.5, you should take the over on that. Easy money. If you don’t think so, put your money where your mouth is, you’ll make some dough.
Lastly, Trout will be in Philly in two years or less. Book it. Harper has already recruited him to Philly. Try to keep up with the news.
Are you going to ignore that all those mediocre playoff stats too?
One things for sure, whenever someone says “book it” it’s a guarantee.
I know how to read baseball ref too. Yes he was an MVP, he had an amazing year. One of seven so far.
He didn’t handcuff the Phillies and they’ll be able to make moves around him so in that sense it’s not bad. And yes “players deserve it”. I just don’t agree that Bryce Harper should bring a record setting contract. He’s just over hyped.
Small sample sizes mean nothing. Look up Don Newcomb’s playoff statistics sometime.
Like I said Shane, book it. I’ll be around.
Shane was the kid in school who said Jordan sucked.
Harper’s cumulative career-total WAR through his age-25 season stands at 30.7. Just 21 other outfielders in history have posted a higher WAR through their age-25 seasons. Of those, 15 are in the Hall of Fame (Ty Cobb, Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Al Kaline, Ken Griffey Jr., Mantle, Musial). Two are still active (Trout and Albert Pujols).
Sample size is one playoff appearance. He’s had FOUR
Geoinfoguy…………..
30.7 or 27.4 depending on your choice of War
I am a Phillies fan and have been for decades. I will root for Harper to succeed even though I think the money would have been better spent on Machado.
That said, I have seen the “Just 21 other outfielders in history” thing posted several times. Tell me, of all those outfielder how many has 1/3+ of their war in one season? How many were as inconsistent as Harper? How many went from 1.1 to 10 to 1.5 war? 7 years in the Show and he won an MVP but was never in the top 10 in the 6 other seasons. I haven’t looked at each of those 21 others but can any claim that?
Harper is wildly inconsistent and I personally think a mistake of a signing. I hope he proves me wrong.
Lol, the Trout to Philly hype train is going to get crazier l, it’s a possibility, but I doubt he wants to play for a fan base like theirs.
“I’m an Eagles fan, I know how we are,” Trout said. “When you’re going good, you love them. Fans appreciate hustle all of the time, like 100 percent effort. Even if you’re’ struggling, if you go and show them that you’re giving 100 percent, they see that and respect that.”
https://www.phillyvoice.com/philadelphia-phillies-mike-trout-angels-mlb-free-agency-rumors/
He is part of the fan base and even though he didn’t mention the Phillies specifically he grew up a Phillies fan. That is well documented.
Haha he is that fan base… he grew up 20 minutes from Philly.
20 min. by helicopter maybe. It’s an hour if there is light traffic and when is there light traffic in and around Philly?
Yes players should play for free and we all should give all our money to billionaires and be their slaves.
Because that’s exactly what I said right?
That’s how the stream of the logic you used ends.
Care more about owner profits than player salaries. Thats whats killing the game right now and its only going to get worse.
Name another profession salaries magically decline for no reason, I’ll wait.
I don’t believe he’s worth the term or the money. Nowhere did I say that the owners should line their pockets and the players should play for bananas.
What’s killing the game are these ballooning contracts. Soon enough, 20M AAV will be the norm, especially for players that have one great year and a mixture of bad to solid years. What’s also killing the game is big market monopoly that snatches smaller markets home grown talents.
But I thought he didn’t want to play in Philadelphia?
Wait .. he said he didn’t want any opt outs? Whaaaat? Odd, kinda contradicts all the haters on MLBtr!
Just glad this stupid drama is over and maybe just maybe we can focus on the games?
Yes because a baseball rumors site should only be about the games and nothing about the rumors of one of the biggest free agents of this era…
Everyone complains about the contract money and years… yet they simply ignore the revenue the investment makes. Sold out games, playoffs, world title contenders, merchandising & attracting future Free Agents…. this contract will be well worth the investment even if there’s poor production for 1/3 of the contract
The Harper contract IS. A. BARGAIN.
In 2030 his salary will probably be minimum wage – baseball fans really just aren’t bright. Meanwhile people literally have gotten mad at me on this site for calling them out for not caring about owner profits and wealth – numbers that are NEVER talked about anywhere – and the focus is always 100% on player salaries. This narrative is 100% driven by the owners too. Such a scumbag system and so many mindless sheep eat it up “duhhh player makes too much, i dont care about what the owners make”.
Fans literally think being a pro athlete is easy and not deserving of earning the massive profits their skills bring in. Infuriating logic and just sheep mentality getting forcefed by billionaires. How do we make player salary-haters see this? Why are player salaries even public? Owner profits aren’t.
Alright smart guy, cool your jets and take a timeout. What you’re doing now isn’t working.
I think most of what you say is based in sound reason and you bring up valid points. I think the issue is how you say it. At least in the comments section in this article it has been. You write in a manner that makes people want to lash back at you.
You’re not wrong, but ….
In a literal sense, the choice of name says it all. I think the “manner” is a conscious choice, too. Part of the persona …sadly.
I rarely look at names when reading a comment. Granted if there is an distinct avatar I may know who it is but when blank I just start reading.
With “Strike Four” It usually only takes a line or two and I know who it is and stop I skip to another. The insults, vitriol and narcissism usually show up by then.
And I thought you were just some myopic Philly fan trying to justify the deal. I didn’t know you were a financial expert. Let’s see if you feel the same way in a few years.
The AAV is great. Stupid money spent wisely. Plenty of room to extend Realmuto and Hoskins and still go after top free agents in the coming years
Introduce him? I think Philly knows who he is. They have been booing him for the last decade.
Technically, only 7 years.
Yeah, but he was drafted there and well known in 2010. Better part of a decade anyway,
Can’t wait to watch the Nationals win the east and watch the Philly faithful crush Bryce after he hits .240 and goes into his normal mid summer slump for 50 games
Braves will win the east.
Bryce Harper? More like Nice Farter.
Are you enjoying your day off from the 5th grade?
Going great hiPOO. How’d you enjoy the Gay Pride Parade?
Pathetic
Oh really? AndyGAYer?
K.O……………
Serious question….how many band-aids do you go through in a week? I would imagine it’s quite a few with all the knuckle-dragging you do.
Big talk coming from a guy with a cat as his profile pic huh FAT Mando?
Hope he’s ready for the culture shock. Phillies fans are tough. The minute his average drops below .250 or he whiffs with the bases loaded, they’ll want to run him out of town.
I actually watched the whole press conference and I’ve got a little more respect for the guy. Hearing him talk about the FA process, family, the team, and what he wants to accomplish really spoke to his character. Phillie fans will eat him up in his down years and cheer him on when he’s killing it. He’s probably dealt with that his entire life so it shouldn’t be any different for him.
I love how he described philly as a winning team after 6 straight losing seasons.
It’s called a rebuild….
Remember 2007-2011?
Why did s introducing Harper a trade rumor???
In 2 or 3 years he is not going to be happy there in Philadelphia. Why didn’t Philadelphia offer 11/330. Same money. Or better yet 1mm/330 years. 330/1. Same money. Owner was right about himself and the organization. Pretty “stupid”
“Why did s introducing Harper a trade rumor???”
This site hasn’t been just trade rumors for years and years…deal with it.
They offered 10/300 for 4 months and there was no movement. Harper want one team to spend the rest of his career with so adding $30m anf reducing the AAV closed the deal