What Losing Bryce Harper Really Means For The Nationals

And now it’s official. Bryce Harper has moved on from the Nats. I mean I’ve been blogging about the inevitability of this for 3+ years now. Of course at first I was dead set that it was of course going to be the Yankees. And then it became apparent it was going to be the Cubs. And since the offseason began, the Phillies emerged as the front-runners for him and now it finally happened. 13 years, $330 million.

We’ve been preparing for this moment for years now. And you know? It feels….fine. Obviously I love Bryce. He put baseball on the map in DC. He’s extraordinary to watch, as every at bat of his is must-watch (tee hee). He is a marketing genius, standing out from the rest of the crowd in the MLB, which is butt awful at marketing their players.

For the Nats though, I don’t think much changes. Juan Soto and Victor Robles are two of the best young players in all of baseball. Trea Turner is one of the most dynamic players I’ve ever seen and has a real chance at going 30/30 this year. Mix in the best 1-2-3 rotation in the league and the Nats are very prepared for life after Bryce. Plus, no more distractions. Not for nothing, and obviously I avoided blogging it the best I could because I’m a homer, but there’s no denying he was a distraction at times.

But he was also electric. I blogged like, 80% of his home runs over the last 3 years because they were awesome and he was awesome. There’s no denying any of that. He also never said anything bad about DC and didn’t demand a trade or anything, so I tip my cap to that.

At the end of the day, he is a baseball hired gun. He was after the most money and longest deal, and that’s what he got. The realist in me is like “good for him, that’s what he worked his whole life to get”. But then the sports fan/Nats fan is like “man, fuck this guy”. Going to the Phillies? I’m not necessarily salty, it’s more like “mannnn, fuck that”. You never want to see your guy go to a rival.

Here’s one major point we need to realize- Bryce was never Ovi. He never fully immersed himself into DC lore like an Ovi. I think that’s one of the reasons it doesn’t sting as much as maybe it should? Or maybe because Bryce never fully lived up to the expectations or won a playoff series?

So yeah. It sucks he’s on the Phills, but hey, now when he turns 35 the Phillies will still have 4 years and over $100 million to pay him. I’m sure that’s a good idea (eye roll).

Today the Phillies got better and the Nats got closure. It’s officially the Soto Show in DC. Can’t wait.