Quote:
Originally Posted by Giantone
Good call.Not being a super big baseball guy, ......is he worth the money?
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He wouldn't have been worth $30M per season. But $25M per season I'm good with.
His defensive value isn't great. He's not a liability on defense at all, but he's also not adding a lot of value. In Citizen's Bank Park though where the OF is small, his range isn't as important.
What is important is the lineup impact he has. Rhys Hoskins has never had this kind of lineup protection, his numbers should get better just because of the presence of Harper. Harper led MLB in walks last season, his career OBP is 0.388. He'll be on base a lot, and he'll drive in his fair share as well.
It's not just about Harper as an individual, it's about how he affects the rest of the lineup. The Phillies had already made big improvements by acquiring Jean Segura to play short, JT Realmuto behind the plate, and a declining Andrew McCutcheon to play OF who is no longer the all star level player but still an offensive threat.
Segura consistently hits 0.300 so he fits perfectly at the top of the order. Harper being the lefty power hitter breaks up the right handed heavy order, so he slots naturally into the 3 hole. That puts Hoskins the young slugger right behind him in the 4, with Harper and Segura on base ahead of him plenty.
Realmuto slots in as a nice 5th, a guy with good gap power who had 30 doubles and ~20 HRs each season the last two years.
And then your 6 7 8 become McCutcheon, Odubel Herrera, and Maikel Franco in some order. McCutch is on the downside but still gets 20+ HRs per season. And Franco and Herrera don't make for great middle of the order hitters the way the Phillies had to use them the last few seasons. But they make for a great bottom of the order. For your 7 and 8 hitters to be guys who hit 0.260 - 0.270 and 20 HRs apiece, that's dangerous and gives you the ability to score in any inning.
Harper works the count. With the rest of the lineup around him, the Phillies will run pitch counts up and get deep into the bullpen of opposing staffs in a hurry. His fit into the lineup as a lefty slugger is perfect.
And best part of all, this should make Mike Trout want to come home in 2021, for certain.