Bryce Harper with the A’s: The Door Is Open

The Philadelphia Phillies are seeing their window of opportunity close faster than expected. Their loss to the Braves is confirming just that.

We'll be discussing this at 2 p.m. this afternoon, for those interested. #Podcast

Will Dave Dombrowski have to take drastic measures to shake up this team's lineup a bit?

And when I say shake up the lineup, I'm talking about the core.

Because right now, if I were a player like Bo Bichette, I'm not sure I'd view the Phillies the same way I did last winter. The window of opportunity lies elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

And Bryce Harper knows that. In fact, he's expecting changes, as he mentioned after his team was eliminated.

But since the current core is aging, perhaps a trade to shake things up and bring in some youth could be on the table.

And there aren't many candidates, since several big-name position players are on contracts that are too large to be traded. #Realumto #Turner

Kyle Schwarber? Philly would be crazy to trade him—he's the heart of the team.

So could Bryce Harper, who has a strained relationship with Dave Dombroski, be traded by the Phillies?

I think it's still too early to talk about this seriously. But people are starting to talk about it in MLB.

Ken Rosenthal, who doesn't speak without good reason, has opened the door to this possibility.

Harper was looking for stability when he signed with Philadelphia, but the past few years may have convinced him that agreeing to a trade could make sense.

If he ends his career without a ring, it won't be good for his reputation. And it's hard to see Harper winning one in Philadelphia.

Rosenthal noted that Harper has wanted a contract extension in Philly in recent years—even though his current contract runs through November 2031.

Could he win one with another team as part of a trade?

Rosenthal hypothetically mentioned the Yankees and the Red Sox. But he also mentioned, as a long shot, the A's, who are set to move to his hometown (Vegas) in 2028.

We're not saying it's definitely going to happen (especially since the Mets have shown that letting a franchise face go can backfire)… but there's more and more talk about it.

Created by humans, assisted by AI.