Mar 29, 2025; Phoenix, Arizona, USA; Chicago Cubs outfielder Kyle Tucker (30) hits a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the fifth inning at Chase Field. Mandatory Credit: Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images Rick Scuteri
One thing you learn covering Bryce Harper is that nothing he says is by accident.
The two-time NL MVP has been in the public eye since he was a teenager, and is about as well media trained as you could be. Harper knows how to downplay a juicy question if he isn't interested in giving a newsy response, and knows how to give a newsy response to a non-juicy question if something is on his mind.
That's some background before we discuss a recent conversation that Harper had with Patrick Mooney, who covers the Chicago Cubs for The Athletic. Mooney's full conversation with Harper — in which he suggests the Cubs were his No. 1 potential destination when he became a free agent after the 2018 season — is worth your time.
However, Harper's love for Chicago is well established at this point. So is the fact that, frankly, the Phillies were a bit lucky that most of the usual suspects sat out Harper's free agency, allowing them to land the future Hall of Famer.
What's most interesting for our purposes is what Harper had to say when he was asked about Kyle Tucker, whose had a massive start to his contract year after an offseason trade that sent him from the Houston Astros to the Cubs.
“He’s one of my favorites in the league,” Harper said of Tucker. “He’s a big-moment player, a red-light kind of player. It’s a lot of fun to watch the way he does it. He’s very impressive. It’s kind of weird to see a superstar player like that get traded from a really good team to another really good team. Great for Cubs fans. Great for the team.
“He’s got a really good opportunity next year to make some pretty good coin.”
At first glance, it seems like just a nice quote about a fellow superstar. And it may be just that. But again, nothing Harper says is by accident.
Here's what Harper had to say about then-Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Trea Turner in June of 2022.
“I think Trea Turner is one of the most underrated players in the game,” Harper said to USA Today's Bob Nightengale. “He’s one of those guys that just goes under the radar. He’s one of the best shortstops in the game. I’m excited to see where he goes next year.”
If you go back even further, Harper consistently wanted J.T. Realmuto on his team — even dating as far back as when Harper was a Washington National and Realmuto was a Miami Marlin:
TBT to the All-Star team photo pic.twitter.com/gNGJF9wiEU
This is what Harper had to say when he signed his 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies and finally got the chance to become teammates with Realmuto, whom Philadelphia had acquired via trade weeks earlier. Sound at all familiar?
Bryce Harper calls J.T. Realmuto his favorite player in the game.
The flip side of that is that when Harper's been asked about an impending free agent that he seemingly doesn't believe is going to be a Phillie, he hasn't flirted with them publicly, even if he's acknowledged their greatness.
Phillies Nation's Destiny Lugardo reminds us what Harper had to say about potentially recruiting Shohei Ohtani when he was visiting Philadelphia as a member of the Los Angeles Angels in August of 2023, his contract year:
Harper laughed when the question was asked, but he shot down the idea of trying to lure Ohtani to Philadelphia.
“No. I mean he’s going to go where he feels best,” Harper said. “If that’s Anaheim or anywhere else. He’s gonna make the best decision for him and his family and himself as well. Wherever he goes, they’re gonna get a great player. A great person as well and I think not just myself, but everybody’s kind of excited to see what happens with his career and his free agency and where he ends up going.”
The question is, which of the two camps does the Tucker quote fall into? Probably somewhere in between. Chances are Harper is not going to be as overt about recruiting any player as he once was with Realmuto because he's quite a bit older now. And it was easier for him to be so open about his love for Turner when the two had previously been teammates in Washington. The most notable experience Harper has with Tucker to this point — at least as far as we can tell — is watching him club two home runs against the Phillies in Game 1 of the 2022 World Series.
But on FOX's telecast of Phillies-Cubs Saturday, Ken Rosenthal mentioned the Phillies as a possible team that could try to lure Tucker away from the Cubs in free agency. It wasn't a report, just Rosenthal pointing out for Cubs fans that are concerned about losing Tucker after one season that there will be plenty of teams interested in him. Of course, Rosenthal wouldn't have said the same if the Cubs were playing the Colorado Rockies.
How you should process Harper's quote about Tucker is just to file it away. Maybe the Phillies will re-sign Kyle Schwarber and Realmuto, likely taking them out of the running for Tucker. But Harper did enter the season seeming to embrace the possibility that 2025 will be the final year for this group of Phillies. After having limited flexibility last offseason, Realmuto ($23.1 million), Schwarber ($19.75 million), Max Kepler ($10 million) and Ranger Suárez ($8.8 million) are among those who could come off the books next winter.
Particularly if it feels like the Phillies need a shake-up after this season, there will be calls for managing partner John Middleton and president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski to reinvest a large chunk of that money coming off the books into Tucker, who is likely to command $500+ million in free agency entering his age-29 season. Perhaps this quote to Mooney was Harper dipping his toes in the water of possibly being one of those pushing Middleton and Dombrowski to do so.
