Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins was about to wrap up a radio interview in Toronto this week when Bryce Harper's name came up. Harper, as you may know, remains unsigned.
Atkins gave Canadian fans (and baseball watchers in general) an unexpected parting gift with his response: He made it sound as though the retooling/rebuilding club had an interest in signing the 26-year-old outfielder.
With so few teams having been reported as serious suitors for Harper, a GM going on the record with this qualifies as news.
Don't run too far with this, though: Atkins didn't say anything close to "We're ready to go toe to toe with the Phillies and Nationals and Dodgers," just that the Jays have "spent time and energy" considering signing the outfielder, have "contemplated" adding him, and will "continue to" do so as they look at a lot of other "alternatives."
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But, hey, kicking the tires (tyres?) on a star is better than spinning your wheels selling hope, right?
The thing is, though, that the Jays' future looks bright, and Atkins made a direct reference to a vital part of it in his Harper answer.
"He would fit well in between Bichette and Vladdy at some point, there's no question," he told TSN's 1050 Toronto. "He's an intriguing player."
"Bichette" and "Vladdy" are better known as Bo Bichette and Vladimir Guerrero Jr., aka the future left side of Toronto's infield, aka two of the best hitting prospects in the game, aka two really good reasons Harper should at least contemplate accepting hundreds of millions of Rogers' loonies if the Jays were to make a late play.
A right-left-right trio of Bichette, Harper and Guerrero hitting, say, 2-3-4 in the order looks as good, long term, as middle-of-the-order combos Harper would round out in Washington or Philadelphia or LA or Chicago (we're excluding New York — there's no sign the Yankees are pulling Harper into the death star).
If you think that assessment sounds wrong, go ahead and contemplate these prospective groups:
Nationals: Juan Soto-Anthony Rendon-Harper
This would be the clubhouse leader. Soto showed as a rookie (.922 OPS, 22 home runs at 19) that he's built for stardom, and Rendon is coming off a 137 OPS+ season at age 28. The three would be a problem for a long time. The complication is that the Nats would have to figure out how to pay all of them long term without incurring enormous luxury-tax penalties.
Phillies: Andrew McCutchen or Jean Segura-Harper-Rhys Hoskins
Manny Machado (or Mike Trout in 2020 or 2021) in place of Cutch/Segura would make this a wrap for Philly, obviously, but we're not at that point. McCutchen is signed through 2021 and has been gradually declining. Segura's slugging took a hit in Seattle but will likely recover in Philly, a hitter's haven. He and Hoskins (.850 OPS, 34 homers in his first full MLB season in '18) could both be under team control through 2023.
Dodgers: Corey Seager or Cody Bellinger-Justin Turner-Harper
Turner, 34, is signed only through 2020 and Seager is coming off elbow surgery. Bellinger is just 23 but his OPS dropped 119 points between his first and second MLB season, mostly because of a big drop in home runs. All those uncertainties keep LA behind Washington and Philly in this exercise.
White Sox: Jose Abreu or Yoan Moncada-Harper-Eloy Jimenez
Abreu is only signed through this season and Yonder Alonso is poised to replace him at first base. Jimenez's ETA to the majors is sometime this year. The Sox are hoping the switch-hitting Moncada (217 strikeouts in 2018) can figure it out and become a force at the plate. This would appear to be the shakiest of the groups.
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Back to Toronto. Remember, the point of this piece is that, long term, Harper's lineup mates with the Jays would be on par with what the other groups have now. Guerrero, 20, is the biggest reason for that, of course. He will be ready to rake from Day 1, as his Triple-A cameo last season showed. He slashed .336/.414/. 564 and hit six home runs in 128 plate appearances for Syracuse last year as a 19-year-old. Overall, he slashed .381/.437/.636 at four minor league levels in 2018.
Bichette isn't in that class (few are), but his ceiling is also high. He posted a .796 OPS and stole 32 bases in Double-A as a 20-year-old in 2018. He's slated to line up at shortstop next to third baseman Guerrero for most of the mid-2020s.
Being bookends to Harper would add pressure on the two to produce right away, but they look to have the skills to do it. If they were to figure out things really quickly, they would become a strong core for a multiple years, and Atkins would have something a lot better to sell to fans than hope.
