Former GM Ruben Amaro hints that the Phillies may explore trading Bryce Harper this offseason. (Photo by Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images)
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Be bold, Phillies. But, uh, this bold?
Former general manager Rubén Amaro Jr. offered an idea that would shake the foundation of Citizens Bank Park when he suggested the Phillies may trade one of their big no-trade-clause contracts as part of their winter plans. Well, there are only three of those deals on the team and they belong to Bryce Harper, Trea Turner and Aaron Nola. And quick sidebar: No team’s trading for Nola’s contract, so is Amaro hinting that Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski may move either Harper or Turner this winter?
“You may see one of the big contracts moved,” Amaro said while discussing the team’s upcoming offseason on 94 WIP. “I’m not saying who. And I know there are a lot of no-trade clauses. But you may see one of those big contracts get moved somehow, someway.”
Cohost Devan Kaney pressed Amaro, asking if he’s alluding to “a Trea Turner-type contract.” He replied, “I’m just telling you the big contracts, that’s all I’ll say. I have a feeling that they may be exploring that. If you want to make a paradigm shift in your organization and do some different things, you never know.”
Philadelphia Phillies’ Trea Turner is in the middle of a multiyear contract with the Phillies. (AP Photo/Chris Szagola)
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Trading Harper or Turner wouldn’t be a paradigm shift; it would be a team-altering move that would impact the franchise for years to come. Harper — an iconic figure in Philly sports — has six years left on his 13-year, $330 million contract. Turner has eight years remaining on his 11-year, $300 million deal.
Kaney added kindling to this firestorm in a separate segment when she said she believes Harper is the one who could be dealt this offseason. “I know it sounds crazy, but this is a player on the back half of his career,” she said. “He really hasn’t done a ton in the regular season or postseason. Like, he hasn’t put up the numbers that he used to. There’s only so many times you can go back to Bedlam at the Bank before it gets a little bit old.”
A couple days later, Amaro clarified his radical proposal — but only just a little — on The Phillies Show podcast that dropped Wednesday, saying he was merely offering his opinion. “I just opined, and it is the duty of the general manager to explore all possibilities,” Amaro said. “And I just have a feeling that Dave Dombrowski will keep his mind open on everything.”
Podcast cohost Jim Salisbury said he believes Phillies managing partner John Middleton wants Harper to enter the Hall of Fame as a Phillie one day, to which Amaro replied, “Maybe so. But it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the right thing.”
Amaro, who was the Phillies’ GM from Nov. 2008 to Sept. 2015, added that the odds of trading a Harper-type contract “is probably very low.” However, Amaro threw it out there, planting the seed in Phillies fans’ collective mind that the team may consider making such a colossal deal. But realistically, we all know it’s a long shot.