Philadelphia Phillies Can Thank Yankees for Skipping on Bryce Harper in Free Agency

The New York Yankees had a chance to sign Bryce Harper, when the slugger hit free agency in 2019, but ultimately took a pass. The Phillies benefitted from their miscue.

For the Philadelphia Phillies, Bryce Harper is the gift that keeps on giving.

The two-time National League MVP continues to knock the cover off of the ball in the postseason. Through six playoff games this month, Harper is slashing .368/.538/1.380. He now has the fifth-best career OPS in postseason history (minimum 150 at bats), trailing only the likes of Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, George Brett and Carlos Beltran. For the second straight year, Harper has the Phillies back in the National League Championship Series.

The Phillies inked Harper to a 13-year, $330 million contract back on March 2, 2019. According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, Harper had serious interest in playing in pinstripes, and taking on the bright lights of New York City.

Per Heyman, Harper's representation and the Yankees talked quite a bit, but the Yankees ultimately took a pass on Harper.

“Harper was built for major markets, pressure situations and big games,” Harper's agent Scott Boras told Heyman. “He has an innate will and drive, a fearlessness of the opposition and the rare skill to provide confidence that overcomes temporary fear of failure. Yet when I told teams this they viewed it as hyperbole and noted he had a poor WAR value the prior season.”

Harper posted a 1.8 WAR in a contract year in 2018, his final season with the Washington Nationals.

Instead of adding Harper, the Bronx Bombers splurged on 2017 NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton a year earlier, taking on the ten years and $285 million remaining on his mega-contract and trading for him when the Miami Marlins made him available upon the conclusion of the season.

The Yankees had just come within a game of appearing in their first World Series since 2009. The club hoped Stanton would be the final piece to a championship puzzle. In the six years since, though, New York hasn't sniffed a World Series.

In his first six seasons with the Yankees, Stanton has struggled to stay on the field, playing in just 63.1% of his teams 870 regular season games. Stanton has received just one nod to the All-Star Game since moving to the Big Apple.

This year, the Yankees bottomed out, posting an 82-80 record and missing the postseason for the first time since 2016.

But what if it had been Harper playing in the Empire State, instead of Stanton? Well, thankfully for the Phillies, they don't have to think about that. Harper's team is playing for its second-straight World Series berth, while the Yankees will be watching the Fall Classic from their couches.