Yankees May Be Kicking Themselves for Passing on Harper in Free Agency

What if the New York Yankees had signed outfielder Bryce Harper as a free agent, instead of trading for Giancarlo Stanton? The Yankees may want a mulligan on that one.

On December 11, 2017, the New York Yankees made a franchise-altering trade.

After coming within a game of winning their first American League Pennant in nearly ten years, the Yankees saw an opportunity to make a serious upgrade to their roster. Executive Brian Cashman pulled the trigger on a deal that sent infielder Starlin Castro and minor leaguers Jorge Guzman and Jose Devers to the Miami Marlins for four-time All-Star Giancarlo Stanton.

Stanton had just taken home NL MVP honors, leading the National League in home runs (59), RBI (132), Slugging Percentage (.631) and OPS+ (169). At age 28, it appeared that Stanton's best years were still in front of him, and that he could be the final piece to a championship puzzle in New York. The Yankees would assume responsibility for the remaining ten years and $285 million left on Stanton's enormous contract, a price the Steinbrenner family could afford to pay, if it meant a 28th world championship for the Bronx Bombers.

In his first six seasons in New York, Stanton struggled to stay on the field, playing in just 63.1% of his teams 870 regular season games. He received just one nod to the All-Star Game since moving to the Big Apple. Meanwhile, the Yankees still haven't won an AL Pennant since 2009.

In 2023, they finished in fourth place, posting an 82-80 record and missing the postseason for the first time since 2016.

But what if the New York had waited an extra year to acquire a former NL MVP?

One year after they made Stanton their $285-million dollar man, Bryce Harper became a free agent.

According to the New York Post's Jon Heyman, Harper had serious interest in joining the Yankees at the time. Harper's father grew up a New York fan and Harper wore No. 34 with the Washington Nationals to honor Mickey Mantle. Mantle wore No. 7 and 34 adds up to 7.

“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 Nationals.

Per Heyman, the Yankees and Harper's team talked quite a bit, but the they ultimately passed on Harper, having already made a significant financial commitment to Giancarlo Stanton.

Harper instead signed a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies.

In his first five seasons in the City of Brotherly Love, Harper has largely delivered. Post-COVID, Harper has a spectacular .297/.402/.948 slash line over the past three seasons. Even better, he's been one of the sport's best performers in the clutch.

Harper enters the National League Championship Series against the Arizona Diamondbacks with the fifth-best OPS in postseason history (minimum 150 at bats) behind Lou Gehrig (1.214), Babe Ruth (1.214), George Brett (1.023) and Carlos Beltran (1.021). 

New York certainly could have used that type of output in the postseason a year ago, when their bats went quiet in the ALCS and they were outscored 18-9 by the Houston Astros who would go on to win the World Series.

Now, Harper's team is playing for its second-straight World Series berth, while the Yankees will be watching the Fall Classic from their couches.