The Chicago Cubs Shouldn’t Pursue Bryce Harper, Despite Interest
The Chicago Cubs have built what could be a juggernaut of a team already, and adding Bryce Harper just isn’t necessary, or practical.
Before we kick things off, let’s make a couple of things clear: Bryce Harper is a great player and the Cubs are a great team. While combining those two things is all the rage in the NBA, in baseball it’s a little harder to take one of the top talents at market value and continue to create a winning product.
You’re sure to see plenty of posts about this topic over the next few days because of a report that came out this weekend stating that Harper is apparently interested in the Cubs as a potential destination for his John Hancock after he hits the free agent market following the 2018 season.
Harper has been playing the villain since his debut, and if the Cubs win another championship or two before he hits free agency, the Cubs could be looking at a heel turn themselves, which just a couple of years ago (or for the 100 before that) seemed unfathomable. They could make a nice pairing in that regard, with Harper giving this potential new Cubs look a certain LeBron-era Miami Heat vibe, and in that sense it would be kind of fun to watch.
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From a baseball perspective, this one would be a head scratcher.
John Lackey, Jake Arrieta and Wade Davis all hit free agency following this season, which would leave the club with a 34 year old Jon Lester, Kyle Hendricks and Eddie Butler as the team’s top three starters according to the depth chart.
The one area where the Cubs seemingly have plenty of coverage? The outfield. Right now they have Kyle Schwarber, number two prospect Ian Happ and Jason Heyward from left to right, with Albert Almora Jr. and Jon Jay as the extra outfield options. On top of that, Kris Bryant and Ben Zobrist are also capable in the outfield, and four of their top six prospects (including Happ) according to Baseball America roam the outfield, too.
The Cubs don’t need more options out there.
What they may need is some help on the mound in the coming years. Sure they have some arms on the farm that could become household names, but prospects aren’t a sure bet, which is why some GMs trade them all away *cough* Dave Dombrowski *cough*.
Instead of pursuing Harper, who would also present luxury tax implications with the kind of money he is going to be after, the Cubs could spend much less than $300-$400MM on a quality starting staff, or add a plethora of depth options much like the Dodgers have done.
It’s not too often that just having bats wins championships. The Colorado Rockies routinely have one of the best offenses in baseball but up until this season haven’t been taken seriously in years. The difference? They now have some pitchers that can perform both at home and on the road.
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Adding Bryce Harper to the Chicago Cubs lineup would make them a scary bunch, but would also make the club fairly one-dimensional and would lock up a lot of their financial resources on one big lone-term contract, which never seems like a good idea, no matter how good/great the player is.