Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper recently revealed his willingness to move back to the outfield, under one condition.
Bryce Harper to take on OF role if Phillies snag star 1B
According to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, Harper had this to say about the position shift he’d embrace to upgrade their World Series hopeful roster (h/t Phillies Nation’s Destiny Luzardo):
“I talked to [the Phillies] this offseason about that, just in case a guy was available [at first] that we needed to have, needed to get. I’d be more than open to it if we had a guy like that, who was going to change our lineup or change the demeanor of our team. They like me at first base. But I’d go out there to have a guy who was going to play first base and hit 35 or 40 homers,” Harper said.
“When Pete [Alonso] was on the block still, I kind of sat there and was like, ‘Hey, why not?’ When we talked about it, I kind of just reiterated to [the Phillies] and Scott [Boras] that I’m willing to move out there if it’s going to help us. I love playing first base. It’s been great. But if it’s going to help us win, I’d go back out there.”
Phillies could go after pair of elite 1Bs in next offseason
Harper moving back into the outfield would turn the Phillies’ OF from very good to great. Philadelphia would have flexibility to pursue superstar first basemen like Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (Toronto Blue Jays), and Pete Alonso (New York Mets).
The two-time National League MVP has played 1,258 of his career 1,437 games in the outfield. Of those, 947 came in right field. Harper has manned first base for the Phillies for the last two seasons, while also seeing time at designated hitter.
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Though he’s never won a Gold Glove Award out of right field, he’s a strong defender at the position. Harper owns a career .986 fielding percentage with only 23 total errors across those 947 games.
Thus, the already stout Phillies could add one of two of the most potent home run hitters in all of baseball to take over for him at the three slot, and create an embarrassment of riches on their roster should they chase one of the aforementioned first basemen next fall.
