The Math on Bryce Harper Return might just mean everything for the Phillies!

By John Kincade

Last year the Phillies season benefitted from not only one, but two changes to the league rules. Without either of these changes, the amazing post season run of the 2022 season never culminates in the World Series. It truly was magical.

MLB ADDED THE 3rd WILDCARD

The third wildcard never existed before 2022 and the Phillies should be thrilled that it was. The Mets and the Padres had secured the normal wildcard spots. The Mets had the top wildcard with 101 wins and the Padres secured the second wildcard with 89 wins. The Phillies would normally have been sent home with just 87 wins but they made the most of their 3rd wildcard opportunity.

THE NL ADDED THE DESIGNATED HITTER TO THE NL

Until 2022, the NL fan bases had soundly rejected the premise of the designated hitter. If it hadn’t been introduced, Bryce Harper would have had to undergo surgery in the summer and his contributions to the October run never happen. That was quite fortunate as his rampage proved.

ONCE AGAIN A MLB RULE CHANGE BENEFITS THE PHILLIES AND BRYCE HARPER

Since the news broke that, at least for now, Bryce Harper isn’t going to go on the 60 day DL that could end up being a huge benefit for the teams 2023 chances. MLB made the decision to shift their scheduling. Every team will now face each other every season. One year the Phillies will travel to their AL opponent and the next year they will host them. It creates six fewer divisional games for each team. They will play just 13 games vs the Braves, Mets, Marlins and Nationals. You can look at that as a good or bad thing. You play twelve less games vs two of the best teams in the NL, but get twelve less games vs two losing teams. What is most important? The way the schedule falls. 

The Phillies most critical 2023 games vs the Braves and Mets are potentially impacted by a quicker return of Bryce Harper. The two teams only meet four times a year, not six this time around. COULD Bryce Harper be ready by Memorial Day? That would be overly optimistic but potentially very ideal. The Week of May 25 - June 1st the Phils play 4 at the Braves and 3 at Mets. That’s the first critical stretch. 

Barring a setback, Bryce SHOULD be back by June 20th, right? The Week of June 20 - June 25th the Phillies host the Braves for 3 games followed by the Mets for 3. Can you imagine the crowds and excitement if the return of Harper culminates that week? It might even be before!

The great news for The Phillies is that they will play 13 of their last 19 games against the Braves and the Mets starting on September 12th. The MLB schedulers set it up for drama. As long as they haven’t fallen out of the race by a large margin, the Phillies could play their best baseball down the stretch and grab the division crown.

The Phillies clearly had a horseshoe in their back pocket in 2022. It looks as if they might have found yet another four leaf clover to get them over the difficulty of missing Bryce Harper.

The Philadelphia Eagles entered free agency with a bunch of veterans who were ready to test the market. They decided to bring back veterans like Brandon Graham, Jason Kelce, James Bradberry, while restructuring Darius Slay's contract. But the one position that Howie Roseman seemed to neglect is safety.

Many fans (myself included) thought that the Eagles top priority was to bring back safety CJ Gardner-Johnson. Acquired from the Saints right before the season, the Eagles transitioned the former cornerback to the safety spot and he fit in beautifully. But he also overplayed his hand and mishandled his market. The Eagles reportedly came to him early in free agency and offered him a multi-year deal, he declined, and when he realized that the market wasn't what he thought it would be the Eagles had moved on.

So what are the Eagles going to do? The idea that the Eagles are going to go into next season with a safety combo of Justin Evans and "Ed" Reid Blankenship is naïve. The Eagles will either address the safety position in the draft or via a trade (because the good safeties are off the board in free agency.) Howie Roseman absolutely loves to make trades. Out of every GM in football, Howie looks to trade more than anyone else.

So lets take a look at some players that fit the mold of a CJ Gardner-Johnson. Not the playstyle, but the contract status. The Saints traded CJ Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles because they could not agree on a contract extension. They elected to get a draft pick from the Eagles than a lower compensatory pick if he left in free agency. There are those players every single year that become available. Howie has done great work taking advantage of other teams cap issues.

So here are 5 players that might interest Howie Roseman and the Eagles via the trade route.

The Eagles were heavily interested in Jeremy Chinn during the 2020 NFL Draft. The Panthers havent picked up his team option and Chinn will become a free agent after the season. The Panthers gave up a lot of draft capital to trade up to the #1 pick so they could be interested in getting some of it back. Especially in a rebuilding year. The current coaching staff and front office didnt draft Chinn, so whats the upside for them to keep him?

Darnell Savage is a local guy (Bear Delaware) who is poised to be a free agent after this season. He is on a Green Bay team that likely wont be competing much in 2023 since they missed the playoffs last year, and are moving on from Aaron Rodgers. So whats the upside for keeping Savage? Savage is owed over $7 million dollars so that might price him out of the Eagles price range but hes a hell of a player.

Like Chinn, Delpit is a former 2nd round pick from the 2020 NFL draft. Playing well for a Cleveland team that gave up a ton of draft capital to get creep Deshaun Watson. Cleveland is that adorable team that always thinks they are in it, so would they look to trade their starting safety? Well if he is just going to hit free agency in a year then maybe. He is on a VERY team friendly contract (owed just $1.6 million).

Winfield isnt unsigned because the Bucs dont want him. He is unsigned because he is going to cost a LOT if he hits the open market. He is slated to after this season. One of the best safeties in the league, he was originally a second round pick who has quickly developed into a beast. But he is playing for a rebuilding team. Does he want to be in Tampa? Does Tampa want to allocate top dollar to a safety? If the answer is "no" to both then Howie could pounce.

Blackmon fits the mold of the previous names. He is on a bad team who is rebuilding. He is in the final year of his contract and is VERY affordable. What would he really cost? probably not much. But he could be a worthy stap gap at the position for one year. And playing with a CB tandem of Darius Slay, James Bradberry, and Avonte Maddox should help any safety elevate their game.