Bryce Harper Says He'll Recruit Mike Trout to Philadelphia in 2020
Bryce Harper has yet to take his first at-bat with the Phillies after signing a 13-year, $330 million contract on Feb. 28, but he's already planning on recruiting fellow All-Stars to the City of Brotherly Love. And Harper has one clear target in mind for a future superstar teammate: Mike Trout.
Harper discussed the possibility of playing with Trout during an appearance on SportsRadio 94 WIP in Philadelphia on Tuesday.
"I can really put that faith in myself being able to say we're the Philadelphia Phillies and we want everyone who wants to come to Philly," Harper told WIP's John Marks and Ike Reese. "If you don't think I'm gonna call Mike Trout to come to Philly in 2020, you're crazy."
Harper hinted at pairing with Trout during his introductory press conference with the Phillies on March 2.
"I think baseball's worth about 11-and-a-half billion dollars. I think some of it should go back to the players, as well," Harper said. "I'm making like $26 [million] a year or something like that, so I think that's going to be able to bring some other guys in as well to be able to help this organization win. I know there's another guy in about two years that comes up off the books, so we'll see what happens with him."
Trout, who grew up in New Jersey less than 50 miles from Philadelphia and still lives in his hometown, has two years left on his contract. He will be a free agent following the end of the 2020 season after signing a six-year, $144 million extension with Los Angeles in March 2014. Trout has tallied two MVPs and four second-place MVP finishes since joining the Angels in 2011.
Harper spent his first seven seasons with Washington, reaching six All-Star Games and winning the 2015 National League MVP. He hit 34 homers and drove in 100 runs in 2018 despite hitting just .249.
