The opening press conference for the Phillies new' $330 million man couldn't have been scripted any better.
Yes, Matt Klentak, John Middleton and Scott Boras covered all their bases, but it was Bryce Harper who absolutely crushed his opening "job interview" to the city of Philadelphia —a city that a day before he signed was pretty much split on him because they weren't sure he even wanted to be in the city.
Harper's opening press conference, and his contract overall, more than squashed those concerns.
13 years. No opt-outs. A full no-trade clause so he can choose to stay if he wants. An unprecedented commitment to a city that many thought he didn't want to play in.
Such a commitment from Harper also creates a responsibility from Klentak, Middleton and the Phillies ownership to give Harper a championship caliber ballclub to work with.
As much as Harper seemed to love the idea of playing in Philadelphia in his opening presser, he also made one thing clear: He's here to win and recruit players to help him bring parades down Broad St.
Getting Bryce Harper was phase one of what has to be a two-part plan for the Phillies.
What is part two you ask?
Bringing back the Millville Meteor, Mike Trout.
----
For as much as Saturday was about the Phillies having a new face of their franchise, it also felt like an open recruitment of Mike Trout by Bryce Harper.
From this:
Who could Bryce Harper be talking about?"I'm making 26 a year, so I think that's gonna be able to bring some other guys in as well to be able to help this organization win. I know there's another guy in about two years that comes off the books. We'll see what happens with him."
— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) March 2, 2019To this:
How did I miss this??????? pic.twitter.com/4G20YNSWJk
— Phils in Fo' (@pivettahype) March 3, 2019I mean, Mike Trout basically spent the entire offseason selling Bryce Harper on Philadelphia:
"They're gonna sign Trout by the way, in two years." -- pic.twitter.com/OBB8j9exbR
— SPORTSRADIO 94WIP (@SportsRadioWIP) March 1, 2019It isn't a stretch to believe that Trout told him to sign with the Phillies so that they could end their careers together. (Did I tear up just writing that sentence? Yes I did.)
As much as Harper is awesome, and an absolute gamechanger, Mike Trout has always felt like John Middleton's white whale.
Ever since Jayson Stark wrote this piece around Thanksgiving I've had this thought of Middleton sitting in his office dreaming of the day that the Phillies build baseball's next "Super-Team" with a Trout/Harper outfield. Harper hitting Titantic shots and being the most recognizable face in the game, paired with Philadelphia's native son (that also happens to be a modern day Mickey Mantle,) and a guy this city has yearned for ever since he broke into the big leagues in 2011.
That dream is now closer to being a reality.
In luring in Harper, the Phillies now have the blueprint to go to Mike Trout in two years and say to him, "look at what you could win here." That's the underlying beauty in Harper already being here. Instead of being desperate for Trout in two years, they can sit back, build a pennant-winning caliber roster with Harper here and leave the books open for Trout in two years to be the guy to put the Phillies over-the-top rather than "come home and save us." That's a way easier sell. And make no mistake about it, I'd bet my life that in the Phillies meetings with Harper, they laid out their blueprint to have both him and Trout playing next to each other for the rest of their careers.
Part one of a two part plan.
The Phillies owe it to Harper, and his family, to get this done. In a way, the hard part is now over. You got the face of baseball to come to your city and sign a contract that has him finishing his career there.
Harper is only a piece of the puzzle. He's great, but the Phillies need more if they're going to win and win big.
Harper wants to recruit stars to come join him in Philadelphia. Mike Trout is that star.
Let the recruiting begin.
