ESPN hints at possible Phillies' Bryce Harper move or Alec Bohm trade for Japanese star originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
If the Philadelphia Phillies were willing to move Bryce Harper back to the outfield, it would likely open up a lot for this team moving forward. However, president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, has stated a few times that he doesn’t want to do so.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementHarper has been on record saying that he doesn’t mind moving back to the outfield if it helps the team improve, but ultimately, he doesn’t have the final say in what happens.
Despite that reality, some still believe the Phillies could be in the mix for a first baseman, with Kiley McDaniel of ESPN naming them a suitor for Kazuma Okamoto out of the NPB.
“Okamoto could prove to be a cost-effective alternative to Pete Alonso (who projects for low nine figures) and can point to Yoshida's $90 million deal as a comp. The Mets, Astros, Yankees, Pirates, Marlins, San Diego Padres, Philadelphia Phillies and Arizona Diamondbacks all seem to be in on the first base/designated hitter market to various degrees -- and could be looking for a cheaper option than signing Alonso, Kyle Schwarber or Murakami, where Okamoto is the fallback option,” he wrote.
Okamoto might not be the guy the Phillies want to bring in to move Harper back to the outfield due to some injury risk involved in doing so, but he would still be a nice pickup.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementPerhaps they could even view him as a third baseman if they move on from Alec Bohm, which wouldn’t be the worst idea.
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