Last week, Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies. It was a huge contract that finally spelled the end of the Bryce Harper sweepstakes that had plagued so much of the MLB offseason. While Harper hasn't even played a game yet with the team, he is already thinking about the future of the franchise. Harper will be 39 when his contract expires and it's clear that he wants to make the most of it. While talking to the media, he hinted at recruiting Mike Trout, who is considered the best player in baseball. Trout becomes a free agent in 2020.
"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 according to Sports Illustrated. "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."
Jamie Squire/Getty Images
The superstar doubled-down by calling Trout out by name and making sure that people know that Philadelphia is a great place to play.
"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 explained. "If you don't think I'm gonna call Mike Trout to come to Philly in 2020, you're crazy."
Trout is currently playing for the Los Angeles Angels, although he has stated that if he were to play for any other franchise, it would be Philadelphia.