At 3:30 p.m. Monday, Bryce Harper stood on the grass in shallow center field and uncorked throws from as far as 120 feet to coach Paco Figueroa on the right-field foul line.
With that, the Grand Experiment began.
Make no mistake, that’s what this is. The Phillies made their big trade-deadline move for Luis Arraez, a three-time batting champion whom they deemed the most impactful hitter available even though his preferred position (second base) was occupied. They also added relievers Caleb Kilian and veteran lefty Brooks Raley.
But they couldn’t line up on a package for any of the 13 — count ‘em, 13! — starting pitchers of note who got traded, leaving one of the Phillies’ chief needs unfilled.
Were they unwilling to pay the prices for the one subset of an extreme seller’s market that featured abundant supply?
Or were they unable?
“Both,” Dave Dombrowski said after the 6 p.m. deadline passed. “In some cases, I’d say some clubs felt we were unable to match others, but not in many cases. The top of our farm system is very well-regarded. I think it’s a little deeper than what people think it is once you start talking to them. But others may not.”
As a rival team official said, “Dave was in a really tough situation,” trying to find bullpen help, a right-handed bat, and a starter with “only three legitimate pieces” in the farm system. Dombrowski cashed in one of them — 20-year-old righty Ramon Marquez — for Arraez, a pending free agent.
But the Phillies’ biggest asset turned out to be Harper’s unfulfilled desire to win a World Series.
If Harper wouldn’t go back to right field, where he hasn’t played since April 2022, the Phillies couldn’t have set off the chain reaction of positional changes — Alec Bohm to first base, Bryson Stott to third — that opened up second base for Arraez.
For years, Harper told everyone that he would make a temporary move to the outfield if it enabled the Phillies to add a hitter. They never came close to taking him up on it, even as Dombrowski went on a four-year search for outfield bats that turned up Austin Hays, Max Kepler, Harrison Bader, and Adolis García.
“I know everybody thinks it’s crap when I say it,” Harper said Monday. “But it’s not.”
Just in case, Harper stuffed an outfielder’s glove in his travel bag for the road trip last week. Then, at Dombrowski’s request, Don Mattingly struck up a conversation before a game. It went like this:
“Hey, are you serious?” Mattingly said.
“Yeah,” Harper said.
And that was it.
“I think him being willing to do that — and being serious about it — was the key to being able to open your mind to different things,“ Mattingly said. ”It could get away from an outfielder and open your mind to different guys.”
The clincher, though, came Sunday night. Dombrowski was “pretty far along” in talks with the Giants about Arraez when he got a text from Harper.
“He said, ‘If there’s any truth to the rumors that you’re getting Arraez, I’d be happy to move to the outfield to add him to the ballclub,’“ Dombrowski said. “His volunteering it opened up the door for us to go ahead.“
Never mind, then, that the Phillies began the week last in the majors in on-base percentage (.280) and OPS (.644) from the right side of the plate. In their estimation, lefty-swinging Arraez will improve the lineup more than righty-hitting outfielders Jo Adell and Taylor Ward.
They’re probably correct. Arraez is a modern Rod Carew. What he lacks in power (career-high 10 home runs in 2023), he makes up for in contact skills. To put his 21 strikeouts this season into context, 102 players struck out as many times … in July alone.
But Harper, Stott, Trea Turner, and Bohm — from first base to third — have comprised the infield for four years, including Monday night in the 113th game of the season. Now, the only one who will stay put is Turner, the worst defender of the group.
It’s a lot of chess pieces to move around on Aug. 4.
Mattingly, a nine-time Gold Glove first baseman, was asked if he’s ever seen anything like it.
“I can’t say that I have,” he said. “Not that I remember. No, not really.”
And Dombrowski, who has led front offices for nearly 40 years and been in the game even longer?
“Probably not positional player-wise,” he said.
The Phillies are among the worst defensive teams in the majors. Dombrowski thinks they could be better in the new alignment. Can they get worse?
Harper, in particular, but also Stott are expected to return to their regular positions after the season. Until then, it’s a gambit.
“I think sometimes you have to take a little bit of an adventurous look at your club when you look at moving positions around,” Dombrowski said. “We think it will work for us.”
But they’re asking Harper and Stott to condition their arms to make longer throws. And it’s not like they have spring training. They’re expected to be at their adopted positions Tuesday, when Arraez joins the team.
“Obviously I’m going to need to get my arm going a little bit more,” Harper said. “Long toss, arm care, all that stuff. … I would say that and maybe a little bit of the legs as well. But at 33 right now, it’s the best I’ve felt in a long time. I feel healthy. I feel strong.
“I’m at a spot in my career where I don’t have to do that, right? Like I don’t have to go and play a different position. I’m very comfortable at first base. I love first base. I love being on the infield, you know? It’s something I’m doing just for the team. That’s how I feel about that.
“But I want to win. You guys know that I want to win more than anybody. So, go out there hopefully it helps.”
It won’t fill the fifth-starter spot, get any outs in the eighth inning, or boost the production from the right side of the plate. But at the trade deadline, Harper’s championship thirst was the best thing the Phillies had going for them.
