Trade rumors surrounding Philadelphia Phillies’ eight-time All-Star Bryce Harper began after Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski suggested following last season that Harper fell short of being considered an “elite” player. And the New York Yankees have often been at the center of those rumors.
Harper has a full no-trade clause built in to his 13-year, $330 million contract with the Phillies, meaning that if the rift with Dombrowski lingered and the Phillies tried to trade him, the former No. 1 overall draft pick would have the power to select his destination. On Friday, a leading Yankees analyst suggested a small roster move the Yankees could make which, the analyst said, would immediately make the Yankees a potential destination for Harper.
According to a report earlier in the spring, Harper personally lobbied Dombrowski to reacquire for Phillies first baseman Rhys Hoskins. Harper later denied the report, saying that adding Hoskins “didn’t really make sense.” But the two-time National League MVP went on to praise Hoskins, in an interview with a Philadelphia radio station, saying, “Obviously, you’d always love to have Rhys back in any fashion.”
But what if the Yankees acquired Hoskins, who signed a minor-league deal with the Cleveland Guardians in February? That was the plan proposed by analyst Esteban Quiñones of Pinstripes Nation on Friday.
“The idea is subtle but deliberate,” Quiñones wrote. “Hoskins is 33 years old and recently signed a minor-league deal with Cleveland. Given that the Yankees just extended a 38-year-old in Goldschmidt, Hoskins’ age is not at all unreasonable. He brings right-handed power, postseason experience and, crucially, a close friendship with Harper.”
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The Pinstripes Nation writer added that acquiring Hoskins for the Yankees would be a “low-cost, low-risk addition that happens to check a real positional need.” And it “also nudges (Harper) one step closer to the Bronx.”
Of course, the scenario assumes that any tension that exists between Harper and the Phillies front office is real and ongoing, severe enough to lead the club to want to trade Harper — who then would need to approve any trade. The Yankees would also need to get Hoskins away from the Guardians. According to Guardians correspondent Ryan Lewis of the Akron Beacon-Journal, Cleveland is likely to elevate Hoskins to its opening day big-league roster.
Meeting all three of those conditions looks like a long shot, but the first piece of the puzzle for the Yankees would be adding Hoskins. Whether they will take Quiñones’ advice and make the attempt will likely be known before the end of spring training.
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