While the current Yankees boast some big names and big talent, it feels like they’re missing something.
Sure, they’ve got some all-stars in their lineup, but every year it seems like we’re hoping and praying everything breaks right. Can Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez stay healthy? Can Brett Gardner perform in the second half? Can Jacoby Ellsbury play to his ability? There just aren’t too many sure things. To be quite honest, the team is boring. 40-year-old A-Rod was the most exciting player in 2015.
When Robinson Cano was here, you could just look at the back of his baseball card and you knew what you were getting from him every season — .300-plus average, 25-plus homers, 100 RBI and Gold Glove defense. Cano was in his prime when he left, and will probably go down as one of the best players to ever play his position.
The Yankees need a player like that again. They need a star who poses a threat every time he walks to the plate. Hell, they need a megastar.
They need Bryce Harper.
It seems too good to be true, doesn’t it? Here’s Harper, who grew up as a Yankee fan, who mentioned in a Sports Illustrated article back when he was a 16-year-old phenom that the goal was to put on the pinstripes. He wears 34 because the two digits add up to The Mick, Harper’s father’s idol.
You’ve got big money contracts expiring for the Yankees in the coming years, which would allow them to open the checkbook again. They haven’t spent any money on MLB free agents this winter, perhaps looking toward Harper’s impending free agency. All signs are pointing towards the two sides meeting for a deal of epic proportions down the road which could reach upwards of $400M.
The Yankees have been a franchise that’s been built on stars going back to Babe Ruth. With attendance and ratings declining, the Yankees need buzz. They need a reason for fans to come to the ballpark.
The organization didn’t reach four million in yearly attendance until A-Rod came to the Bronx in 2004. Trust me, the Yankees know what a player of Harper’s caliber can do for business. Imagine how ticket sales would spike? Merchandise? A Harper signing would reverberate throughout the organization and fanbase.
From afar, it seems like the plan is to establish a good core of homegrown talent, and then compliment that with a high-priced free agent or two. Hopefully by the time Harper hits the open market, guys like Aaron Judge, Greg Bird, Luis Severino, Gary Sanchez and Jorge Mateo are firmly entrenched in the Bronx and succeeding at a high level. Bring in Harper as the final piece, pencil him into the lineup and let him go to work.
Harper will be 26 when he hits the open market. Think about that for a second. We’re at a point in baseball where this rarely happens anymore. Teams are locking up their young stars and they’re entering free agency much later in their careers. Barring an extension with the Nats, and that seems unlikely with Scott Boras, Harper is going to be the most sought after player in professional sports.
He put up a line of .330/.460/.649 with an OPS of 1.109 and added 42 homers and 99 RBI at the age of 22 last year. To put things in perspective, 2015’s NL Rookie of the Year – Kris Bryant – is about a year older than Harper who already has four seasons under his belt.
The Yankees need him. They need his attitude. They need his intensity. They need his left-handed swing. They need a perennial MVP candidate who instills fear into the other team.
They need a drawing card – one that can call the Bronx home for years. The right field porch is calling, Mr. Harper.
