Chicago Cubs: What Bryce Harper on the Cubs might look like

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Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports /

I can’t believe I’m writing this story: Bryce Harper wants to join the Chicago Cubs. It seems like a story that our current Commander In Chief would dub “fake news.”

But the very credible baseball writer Peter Gammons told Mully and Hanley on 670 The Score

“I have people tell me that Bryce Harper, really, would prefer to play for the Cubs.”

It’s is something that no one had ever actually considered. Up until this point, the favorite in the early Bryce Harper ‘sweepstakes’ has been the Yankees. The pinstripes are notorious for signing big-name free agents. They also will presumably have plenty of cap room to take the potential half-a-billion dollar hit.

Let’s focus on what this could hypothetically mean for the Cubs. They would be adding a former 22-year-old NL MVP, a potential 6-time All-Star (assuming he gets picked both this year and next year), and one of the best baseball players in the game.

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Did I mention, he would only be 26 years old?

So the question shouldn’t be should the Cubs sign him if he is available, but rather how does he fit with the team and who needs to go for this to happen?

Let me address the first part of the question: How does he fit–perfectly. You could plug him in second, third, or fourth in the order and have a lethal combination of Bryant, Harper, Rizzo (in any order).

Harper has shown that he can play every outfield position, but he has played the majority of his games in right field.

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This poses the first potential “problem.” I put that in quotes because it truly isn’t a real issue, just a spoil of riches.

The “problem” is that you have a four-time Gold Glove Award-winning right fielder in Jason Heyward. While he can play center better than most, he is a natural right fielder.

So what do you do? My advice would be to move Harper to either center or left where he has played a combined 315 of his 691 games. According to Baseball Reference, he has played them quite well with a .976 fielding percentage.

While this is indeed down from his .983 fielding percentage when he plays solely in right, it is not that significant of a drop-off.

The second “problem” is what do you do with the left field position? Do you go with the currently struggling and defensive liability of Kyle Schwarber or do you go with Albert Almora Jr. who hasn’t gotten a chance to prove himself yet this season.

I would personally go with Almora and trade Schwarber. Now, this may surprise some of you as this decision would definitely be a tough one to make. At this point, the reality is that unless Schwarber is Babe Ruth with a bat in his hands, he costs the team ball games.

Trading Schwarber would potentially help the team in two key areas: pitching and money. I presume that the Cubs would unload Schwarber and maybe a high or low-end prospect for a starting pitcher. Whether that is Chris Archer, Sonny Gray, or some other young controllable starter is TBD.

You might be asking, “How does trading Schwarber save the Cubs money?” Schwarber is currently making only $565,000. However, when he becomes a free agent in 2022, he’ll command a huge payday.

Mandatory Credit: Jake Roth-USA TODAY Sports /

Let’s face it – a deal for Harper is going to take a huge bite out of Tom Ricketts’ checkbook. His deal could potentially be $500 -$600 million as some have reported- nobody knows.

There hasn’t been a player of this magnitude in the modern MLB era since A-Rod in 2000. Rodriguez signed a 10-year, $252 million deal breaking all sort of contract records; just like what Harper is supposedly going to do as well. So, the third and potentially biggest problem (no quotations necessary) is: who stays and who goes?

The Cubs immoveable assets and pivotal players, in my opinion, are as follows: Bryant, Anthony Rizzo, Willson Contreras, Jason Heyward and Jon Lester. That’s it.

Now, some of those players may be immoveable because their contracts are too large (a la Lester and Heyward). Rizzo, Bryant, and Contreras are the three players who can’t be moved solely on their value.

I know what you’re thinking: What about Addison Russell, Javier Baez, Ian Happ, etc.? I would be okay with them leaving if that means the Cubs could sign BRYCE HARPER!

That’s one of the things that Cubs fans need to come to grips with; If you want Bryce Harper (WHICH YOU DO!), you have to be willing to trade key guys.

Mandatory Credit: Cary Edmondson-USA TODAY Sports /

You’ll win. Oh boy, you’ll win. But the rest of the country will hate your guts.

The other main thing Cubs fans need to learn to deal with is being HATED. To give you a basketball analogy, think of Bryce Harper as Kevin Durant and the Cubs as the Warriors.

So what will it take to have Bryce Harper and along with it, his fabulous hair, on the north side of Chicago? A boatload of money, a willingness to be hated, and accepting the fact that it means you would have to trade current key players.

Next: Someone needs to step up to lead the Cubs

But what will Bryce Harper bring you? Wins. And I know some of you don’t like Bryce Harper because of his attitude, bat flips, or overall personality. I have a feeling, though, that you’ll learn to love him when he turns the Cubs into an absolute Super Team.

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