Olney buster – Four most likely landing places for Bryce Harper



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Even if the Washington Nationals swap Bryce Harper on Tuesday, their window of opportunity to win will not necessarily be closed. They have Max Scherzer, the Cy Young Award winner and one of the favorites to win this honor again this year. They have fielder Juan Soto, who can win the NL rookie of the year. They have third-baseman Anthony Rendon, short-stop Trea Turner and talented fielder Victor Robles

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But an era would end with the departure of Harper – an era in which the Nationals had high expectations by winning several championships around the excellence of Harper and Stephen Strasburg. The Nationals of these years will join the 1994 Montreal Expos, the 2001 Mariners and others as one of the largest talent collections ever to win the World Series.

Nobody liked Bryce Harper more than Washington director Mike Rizzo; no one has defended Harper more than Rizzo; no one has protected Harper more than Rizzo. So, for Rizzo, a Harper trade should be unbearable, a tangible acknowledgment that the plan has never unfolded as he imagined it.

If the Nationals swap Harper on Tuesday, these are the teams for which he could make the most sense:

1. Cleveland Indians

The Indians were looking for an outfielder – a Right-handed fielder – but they could probably live with the left-handed Harper, who could clean the bats behind him. Francisco Lindor, Michael Brantley and Jose Ramirez. This group would provide incredible opportunities for run production for him. The Indians should also be in agreement with Harper's defense in the central field, in a year where his glove work has suffered.

Harper will make about $ 7 million in the last two months of this season, and no doubt Indians who run should include significant compensation dollars from the Nationals, who would get better prospects in return if they ate salary.

2. Chicago Cubs

Because of the recurring problem of Kris Bryant's left shoulder, he may never be in full health this year, and Will never offer the same kind of power as in the past. If the Cubs are preparing a set of candidates in addition to a great player (speculation: Albert Almora Jr. Ian Happ?), Maybe they could be the team that keeps Harper away from the Nationals, and as a rental, Harper could absolutely prosper, launching into a free agency.

3. Los Angeles Dodgers

They have already made the biggest acquisition of the summer in trading for Manny Machado, and with a lot of chips pushed into the middle from the table, maybe they're trying the Nationals with an offer built around a young pitcher (Yadier Alvarez, maybe, or maybe Julio Urias) and another room or two. They might try to include Yasiel Puig in a move, or maybe Washington would like to include the recently resurrected Joc Pederson.

But imagine a range of Dodgers that looks like this in October and up in October:

Cody Bellinger CF
Machado SS
Harper RF
Justin Turner 3B
Matt Kemp LF
Yasmani Grandal C
Max Muncy 1B
Chris Taylor 2B

That would be great. [19659007] 4. Arizona Diamondbacks

The Diamondbacks have played better lately and are only half a game behind the Dodgers as the day begins. A move for Harper could be similar to the agreement they made last year for J.D. Martinez, who helped drive the Diamondbacks into the playoffs. Harper would fit well in the D-backs lineup between Paul Goldschmidt and A.J. Pollock – or the Diamondbacks could hit Harper in second place ahead of this duo. Other clubs see Arizona as a team with a window to win now. The question that would hover over the negotiations between the Nationals and the Diamondbacks would be whether Washington would identify something at the top of Arizona's farming system that could serve as a target. As the Orioles went through the commercial negotiations for Machado, they found the group of prospects of the missing Diamondbacks

Bonus Teams

Houston Astros: They have the prospects to do it, they could use the left-handed and today, they will probably see no problem with the change of conversation after Roberto Osuna's return.

Oakland Athletics : Washington GM Rizzo and Billy Beane have done many, many trades together; they work well, they can move quickly. And Oakland has a real chance to overtake Seattle and / or Houston in western LA.

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