When Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper hit the free agent market in the winter of 2018 after spending seven years with the Washington Nationals, there was a lot of speculation on where he would end up. One team Harper was linked to was the Chicago White Sox.
Obviously, the two-time NL MVP didn’t sign there. Instead, he inked a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies in February 2019. But, to people that knew Harper, they weren’t sure where he’d end up, including current teammate Bryson Stott.
Harper and Stott knew each other long before they were professional baseball players. So, when Harper was testing the waters in free agency, Stott, along with two other friends, had some fun and talked about where Harper might ultimately end up.
On Thursday, in a pregame media session, Stott was asked about his friend’s free agency period, including if he ever asked Harper where he’d be going and what Stott’s own prediction was at the time.
Stott said, “[I didn’t ask him] directly, like ‘Hey, where are you signing?’… But me and two of our other friends that we’re really close with, we kicked Bryce out of [our] group message and were predicting where we thought he might land.”
The 26-year-old second baseman was asked a follow-up question about his personal prediction. He replied, “I think I went out on a limb and said the [Chicago] White Sox… I was way off.”
It’s possible Stott wasn’t “way off”, though. In an interview from May 2020, Harper went into detail about his time as a free agent. He mentioned a few clubs that he talked to, which included the White Sox.
The seven-time All-Star noted that he had a “really good meeting” with Chicago and had nice things to say about the city, the club’s fans and the organization as a whole. However, he didn’t mention if Chicago had ever offered him a contract.
That’s all history, though. Harper has settled in nicely in the City of Brotherly Love, winning the NL MVP in 2021 and the NLCS MVP in 2022. When on the field, Harper has been the face of one of baseball’s better teams over the last two years, especially during the playoffs.
According to Stott, he now knows why Harper made the decision to sign a contract for more than a decade with the Phillies that includes no opt-outs and a no-trade clause.
Stott mentioned that he didn’t know what Philadelphia was like back when he made his prediction. But, now that he’s been exposed to it, he understands Harper’s choice, “I wish I did a little more research myself, and I think I might have been able to pinpoint something that sticks out to [Bryce]. He’s a big family guy, as you guys know, and he treats the City of Philadelphia like his own family… If I knew [what] the City of Philadelphia [was like] when I was making my prediction, I think that knowing how big of a family guy he is, I think [Philadelphia] was a no-brainer.”
Harper has two children with his wife Kayla, who was pregnant with their first child during Harper’s time as a free agent. He wanted to sign a contract where he could start, and raise, his family. And he chose Philadelphia.
Maybe in an alternate universe, Harper is a member of the White Sox. But that doesn’t matter. He still has eight years left on his current contract with the Phillies and has previously hinted that he’d like stay with the club beyond that.
As Stott said on Thursday, “[Bryce] loves it here.”
Must-read (or watch) Phillies content
- The Phillies lost Game 3 of the NLCS on Thursday 2-1 after recording just three hits. Phillies Nation’s Destiny Lugardo recapped the walk-off loss.
- After Thursday’s loss, Phillies manager Rob Thomson announced Cristopher Sánchez will start Game 4 of the NLCS on Friday. Phillies Nation’s Tim Kelly has the latest on the decision.
- Phillies Nation’s Ty Daubert has more on Orion Kerkering’s first bad outing in the majors and how he’s moving forward.
- Alex Coffey of the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote about a great Ranger Suárez outing wasted.
- Matt Gelb of the Athletic on how the Phillies’ youngest and oldest pitchers faltered in the big moment.
- Phillies managing partner John Middleton went to great lengths to pass out souvenirs to Phillies fans behind the dugout.
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