Columnist Sees Not Signing Bryce Harper as One Of Dodgers Biggest Failures

Hindsight is 20/20.

The winter of 2018 was an interesting one for the Dodgers, as it saw them pass on multiple All-Star level players due to their lack of desire to sign long-term contracts. One of those was star outfielder Bryce Harper, who has since gone on to continue his domination with the Philadelphia Phillies.

LA missing out on Harper, allowed them to acquire star Mookie Betts from the Boston Red Sox a year later. But did the Dodgers make a mistake in not getting Harper? One writer sure believes that they did.

MLB insider Joel Sherman of The New York Post broke down why he believes LA and the New York Yankees missed a great opportunity to get a proven postseason player.

“It has become a parlor game, every time Harper homers and shows just how built for October he is, to rekindle that after the 2018 season, Cashman mentioned a group of outfielders who would prove to be underwhelming that crowded the Yankees roster and, thus, took Harper out of consideration. Cashman also mentioned he could not envision Harper playing first (where he is playing now).”



Per Joel Sherman of The New York Post

Both teams decided that Harper wasn’t worth the risk, but he has shown that he surely was. Since he arrived in the big leagues, Harper has been a star in his own right, and he has continued to be great.

The Dodgers passing on him is one of the bigger mistakes of the Andrew Friedman era, especially given the fact that Harper wanted to come to Los Angeles.

“It was assumed that offseason that Harper’s preferred destinations were the Yankees or Dodgers, and Los Angeles offered the lefty slugger a reported four years at $180 million, but would not give him the length he desired. Harper ultimately signed with the Phillies for 13 years at $330 million.”

Per Joel Sherman of The New York Post

However, this isn’t to say that the move to go get Betts from Boston was a mistake. Two things can be true at once, but Harper has shown out in the postseason the last few years, while Betts and LA have fizzled out early on.