Making sense of Red Sox-Bryce Harper trade buzz following insider’s Phillies report

Well, that didn't take long. Trade buzz involving the Boston Red Sox and Philadelphia Phillies star Bryce Harper is already a-buzzing, and it's only the start of October. MLB insider Bob Nightengale sparked all the Harper chatter, which Red Sox fans ran with in all sorts of different directions.

Appearing as a guest on 97.5 The Fanatic, Nightengale suggested that the Phillies will probably shop either/both of Harper and Trea Turner this offseason following another early postseason exit (Nightengale doubted that Philadelphia would trade Kyle Schwarber). When asked who between Harper and Turner would be the likelier trade piece, Nightengale went with Harper.

“You’d think probably Harper in the sense that Turner doesn’t have that [contract] value,” he said. “You’d have to eat a lot of that contract to move him. Harper’s contract is very reasonable.”

Harper's AAV over the next five seasons is right around $25.4 million per season.

Red Sox fans are envisioning a trade for Bryce Harper in response to insider's intel

Where would Bryce Harper actually fit with the Red Sox?

The Red Sox already have an All-Star first baseman in Willson Contreras. And even if an aging Harper were to move back to the outfield (that would be weird), Boston has a logjam out there, anyway. Some fans have already suggested trading Roman Anthony (gasp!) to make room for Harper. Keep in mind that Harper will turn 34 years old this October.

If a Harper deal became plausible — if he was willing to waive his no-trade clause, and if the Red Sox were genuinely interested — Boston would probably trade Jarren Duran and then have Harper log most of his starts at DH, allowing Anthony, Ceddanne Rafaela, and Wilyer Abreu to keep their outfield spots locked down. That's a lot of "ifs," and we haven't even gotten to the part about what the Red Sox would have to give up to get Harper.

He's obviously no longer in his MVP-mode prime years, but Harper would probably still fetch the Phillies an MLB-ready prospect and another, highly-rated prospect who's younger and further behind but nonetheless has a high ceiling. The Red Sox just gave up some major prospect capital in the Adley Rutschman deal, but there are still some pieces to work with. Provided the Phillies were interested in packages that didn't feature Franklin Arias (he'd be be off-limits), Boston might have a shot.

There's also the notion that if Harper were to accept a move to Boston, it might be under the condition that the Red Sox extend him past his current deal. That would open up a whole new can of worms that wouldn't make much sense for Boston.

Overall, Harper to the Sox feels like a long shot at this point, but that's the nature of many trade discussions in October. Now's the time to dream about acquiring another star and worry about the details later.

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