Bryce Harper wanting to play for the Cubs isn't anything new. The first mention of his preference actually came back in 2017, but that storyline has really picked up this offseason. Harper is still unsigned and once again there's a report that he'd prefer to sign with either the Cubs or Dodgers.
Unlike the Dodgers, who have now jumped back into the Harper pursuit, the Cubs remain on the outside looking in just twiddling their thumbs.
Randy Miller, a Yankees beat writer, isn't the first to report this. The following was back from December.
Again, this concept isn't new. Bryce Harper wants to be in the spotlight. He wants to be on a winner after falling short year after year with the Nationals. The Cubs, who have the most wins in MLB since the start of 2015, give him that opportunity.
We've known about Harper's interest in playing for the Cubs since the middle of the 2017 season.
That following offseason the Cubs signed Yu Darvish to a six-year, $126 million deal. Did Theo Epstein sign Darvish, knowing it automatically took them out of the running for Harper this offseason? Here's what he said after the Darvish deal was official in 2018.
“[The plan for next year] remains to be seen, but look, I think anytime you sign a multi-year contract, you’re taking away a little bit of flexibility in the future in exchange for talent now and in the future,” Epstein explained. “That’s not just the case with Darvish, but with the other investments we made. “We would never put ourselves in a position to be completely inflexible going forward, but yes, when you commit $126 million to someone it does take a way a little bit from future flexibility.” “We have some work to do to make sure we’re in a position to pounce if a certain great fit or just the right special player happens to become available. Or somebody wants to be in Chicago and something becomes too good to turn down, it’s just too impactful, or too good a deal (and) would mean too much to the team, we just need to be in a position to do that.”So, Epstein does admit that there would be some work to be done to get into a position to pursuit another big free agent. However, he also says that while the Darvish deal, along with other big contracts, does take away a little flexibility, Epstein also said, "we would never put ourselves in a position to be completely inflexible going forward." Bottom line, Bryce Harper wants to sign with the Cubs and even though the front office hasn't been able to shed any of their bad contracts this offseason Tom Ricketts has the money to sign him and signing him makes the Cubs better. Everyone knows the money is there. The willingness to spend it and increase the chances of winning more World Series titles isn't there from Ricketts.
Bryce Harper, the top free agent of this class, wants to be with the Cubs, but too bad because Tom Ricketts is out of money.
