Bryce Harper has a new position.
The two-time NL MVP is on board with a shift from the outfield to first base, a move that got him back in the field last season after undergoing Tommy John surgery.
Harper has seven years and $196 million left on his 13-year $330 million contract, which pays him $25.4 million per year.
“I want to be here for a long time and understand playing into my 40s, that’s the biggest thing for me,” he told reporters on Sunday at spring training. “So I wanted to get that done.”
Harper spent the first 11 years of his career in the outfield but came back as a designated hitter after his surgery.
He played first base for the first time on July 21st and had 36 starts there, including 13 in the postseason.
Dave Dombrowski, the Phillies president of baseball operations, met with Harper over the offseason to discuss a long-term shift to the infield.
“We had a pretty good conversation, me and Dombo, we sat down and he said this would be great for our organization, and I said, OK,” Harper said. “I wanted them to know that I was on board with anything that they wanted to do. I said if you want me in right field, I’ll play right. If you want me at first, I’ll play first base, and I think as a collective, they said first base is where we want you, and I said, OK, I’m going to do anything I can to be there.”
Philadelphia lost in six games in the 2022 World Series to Houston and was eliminated in Game 7 of the NLCS at home last season to the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Harper understands that the window for the Phillies to win is now.
“This is a window that we got to win in,” Harper said. “Our ownership deserves that. Our fans deserve that. Dombrowski deserves that, as well, and we do, too.”
Harper is a seven-time All-Star including four straight years from 2015-2018.
He has a career .281 batting average, with 306 homers, 889 RBIs, and a .912 OPS that is fifth among active players behind Mike Trout, Aaron Judge, Juan Soto, and Ronald Acuña Jr.
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