Is Gabe Kapler hurting the Phillies free agent pursuits?

Does the Phillies difficulty signing either Harper or Machado have anything to do with the team’s manager?

The rumor began circulating even before the season ended, went dormant for several weeks but resurfaced just before Christmas. Does the Phillies inability to ply either of the game’s two free agents with their “stupid money” have less to do with dollar signs and more to do with field manager Gabe Kapler?

Kapler himself has done his best to quell such speculation, voicing enthusiasm for the prospect of writing the names of either (or both) Manny Machado or Bryce Harper into his lineup in April.

But the apparent absence of progress in negotiations between the team and those free agents has reinvigorated the speculation.

The suggestion that Kapler himself might be the stumbling block first surfaced late in September on a Phillies-oriented fan website. John Stolnis, a writer for that site, quoted a tweet from Howard Eskin, anchor of a popular sports talk show in the city. “I’ve been told by baseball people that top free agents may not want to come to Phila w Kapler as Mgr,” Eskin wrote at the time, adding, “it comes down to more than money.”

New York Post columnist Joel Sherman re-invigorated the rumors this week, writing that “neither player particularly likes Philadelphia.” Sherman did not specify Kapler as the source of the problem, confining himself to reporting that both free agents preferred the Yankees, even though New York has not pursued Bryce Harper and reportedly has offered Manny Machado only a shorter-term deal.

For his part, Kapler has loudly enunciated the party line of enthusiasm regarding the prospect of attracting either free agent. “We’re absolutely really excited to have him and show him all of the cool things about Philadelphia,” Kapler told a local radio station prior to a recent Machado visit. He said “either one of those guys would be fantastic additions to our lineup and I … have visions of those guys batting in the middle of those lineups.”

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As would be expected, the agents for the two players have remained poker-faced on the matter of their clients playing in Philadelphia.

What’s never been made clear in all this speculation is what indictment either Machado or Harper might have against Kapler. In his first season, the Phillies manager developed a reputation as an independent strategic thinker, a hard-driving Type A personality with a predilection for SABRmetric concepts who wasn’t afraid to cross paths with his stars.

Obviously, that kind of approach can sit better with some players than with others. Although Machado has said nothing critical of Kapler, he did famously characterize himself a few weeks ago as not a “Johnny Hustle” guy. It would not strain anybody’s imagination to see that approach creating tension on a Kapler-led team.

The Phillies started brilliantly in 2018, holding first place in the NL East for much of July.

But Philadelphia went into a season-long slump during the second week of August that cost them not only first place but a post-season berth and a .500 record. The Phillies lost 33 of their final 49 games, finishing 80-82.