The Phillies president, his unofficial VP, and their task

An interesting tweet was making the rounds on Monday afternoon — it had to do with remarks that Philadelphia Phillies right fielder Bryce Harper made to reporters at Spring Training. It came from Rob Maaddi and detailed the National League MVP’s view that Philadelphia still needed to make a move for a big bat that would dovetail with the team’s clubhouse.

Harper, of course, has been treated by the press as an unofficial Phillies front office member for a while now, and although it’s never clear how well-paid players in such positions are actually heard, he has most definitely had specific opinions he’s given his employers.

This time around, he told Maaddi that the Phillies not signing either Nick Castellanos, Kris Bryant, or Kyle Schwarber would be a “downer,” and, by the way, Carlos Correa wouldn’t be a good fit.

Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski needs to make one more move, minimally. Is VP Bryce Harper advising?

OK, then. Phillies fans are solidly behind this view (and frankly, for a non-Philadelphian, Harper reads fans well). This is particularly so behind the re-signing of the outfielder-who-will-be-unnamed as at least a platoon outfielder. What is it in the water at Citizens Bank Park that Phillies executives always manage to really annoy their fans every winter?

This is not to say that Harper’s views need to be taken as gospel, even given that he is an accomplished, intelligent player.

About two years ago, for example, Harper had three views about his team that he made publicly known, and very likely, two of them are totally forgotten.

The one possibly recalled is that he vocally and sartorially pushed for the re-signing of a certain All-Star catcher, which occurred. Remember the “Sign J.T.” T-shirts? The two views that are probably forgotten, however, are somewhat more interesting.

The first was that Spencer Howard should be called up to the Phillies as soon as technically possible while still saving a year of Phillies control over him. Spoken like a front office man, for sure. Howard, by the way, is now a Texas Ranger, trying to improve on his two-year, 6.93 MLB ERA.

The second was that Alec Bohm was a “big-time third baseman” and should not be part of a trade package for (yes) Kris Bryant.

That was then, and this is now. And once again Harper and his fans seem to have the right angle on what Dombrowski should do — get that big-time bat promised weeks ago. However, Harper is a player, not a “decider.” The fans, though, pay the bills, and maybe Dombrowski should consider them.

No one knows what the Phillies will actually do until it happens. Maybe they’ll win the NL East with The Unnamed Centerfielder and Matt Vierling in left field. Nick Castellanos in left seems a better idea, though.