Phillies Are In Lose-Lose Situation With Bryce Harper Because Of “Stupid-Money”

When the Phillies offseason started, majority owner, John Middleton, said this about what his plans were for the teams offseason approach. “We’re going into this expecting to spend money and maybe even be a little bit stupid about it.’’




Ever since that day, the Philadelphia fan-base envisioned both high-profile mega free agents, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, in red pinstripes. However, as we sit here on February 28, exactly 30 days til the season opener, the Phillies have signed neither and could actually miss out on both.

Manny Machado seemed like the original target because of the connection with GM Matt Klentak and President Andy MacPhail days in Baltimore with Machado. But, that changed when the Phillies met with Bryce Harper in Las Vegas on January 12th. After that meeting it seemed the Phillies turned their focus to Harper.

However, on February 19th, the focus all went to Harper because Manny Machado signed a record breaking deal with the San Diego Padres. Now, when Harper signs, he will more than likely break that record again. But, will that contract come from the “stupid-money” Philadelphia Phillies?




If you asked that question last Friday when John Middleton flew out to Vegas to see Harper and some would say “seal-the-deal”. With aiding support from the reports by Buster Olney and Bob Nightengale saying a deal could be done by Monday afternoon or Tuesday at latest. The answer would have been yes.

But, we sit here two days past that time and wonder, what is going on? Well, the LA Dodgers and San Francisco Giants are what is going on. After John Middleton left, the owners from the Dodgers flew in Sunday night and the Giants owners flew in Tuesday to make a pitch to Harper.

Once considered the favorite by almost everybody, now the Phillies are rumored to be in 3rd by some. But, still the favorite according to some as well. However, why does this even matter when you have “stupid money” to spend? Well, that “stupid-money” is what has gotten the Phillies into a lose-lose situation with Bryce Harper.




When John Middleton said those words, almost instantly the narrative became that the Phillies would be getting at the very least one of the mega free-agents. Using both to bid against each other to get the best possible deal for the team. A bargaining tactic that should have worked to secure at least one.

Now with Machado off the board, the Phillies have to meet almost every one of Harper’s demands to get him to sign. Those demands are far from confirmed and multiple things have came up. Whether it’s an opt out after year 3 or wanting $350M or something else, it seems it has yet to be offered. Which is just one of the possible reasons why Harper has yet to sign.

But, from a Phillies standpoint, Middleton has backed them into a corner with money and the fan base. No matter whether they sign Harper or not, the fan base will jump all over Middleton. One of the big reasons is Manny Machado. If Machado and Harper are on the same level, some say Manny is better and others say Harper, his contract will be compared to Harper’s.




Manny Machado signed for 10yr-$300M. If Middleton believes from a fan standpoint that he needs to get at least one, he now has to overpay for Harper to ensure that. Something the fan-base will never let him live down. Using the term of “if they were the same player” why was one more expensive than the other? Why didn’t we just sign the other guy for cheaper?

Then, if the Phillies don’t sign Harper, the fan base will use Machado again to blast the other side. We did you just let him go? Why didn’t we offer Machado “stupid-money”? Where did the “stupid-money” go?

Many believed letting one sign first and then being able to focus on the other was the Phillies strategy all along. Ensuring at the very least one would be in red pinstripes on opening day at Citizens Bank Park. However, it has actually backfired on them and has now put them in a no win, lose-lose situation.

An offseason that started with so much praise and promise, has turned into a disaster and will go down as possibly one of the worst in Philadelphia sports history.