
Bryce Harper has some grand visions of the talent he’s going to recruit to play with him on the Philadelphia Phillies.
During his introductory press conference on Saturday, Harper discussed how he hoped his salary would be low enough to ensure that the organization could recruit other top talent to the organization — including one player whose contract is up in two years.
Bryce Harper on his own talking Mike Trout
“I making 26 (million) a year. That’s going to be able to bring some other guys in as well to build up this organization. There’s another guy in about two years that comes off the books. We’ll see what happens with that”
pic.twitter.com/dG3vntWHC4— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) March 2, 2019
Harper is alluding to Mike Trout, who will become a free agent after the 2020 season on his current deal. Talk about Trout’s contract situation with the Los Angeles Angels has already escalated since Harper’s signing amid chatter that the Phillies might have some money left in the bank to bring in a star of Trout’s caliber.
Trout is from the Philadelphia area and the prospect of him and Harper playing together is tantalizing. It’s far too soon to be a realistic proposition, but Harper seems ready and willing to recruit when the time comes. He was, after all, the one who brought it up unprompted.