A 2018 trade negotiation surfaced about six months after the deal fell through between the Nationals and Astros that would’ve sent batting champ, MVP, walks machine, and All-Star outfielder Bryce Harper to Houston in exchange for a bunch of prospects. After the 2018 season, Harper ended up signing a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, leaving many fans wondering, “What if Bryce Harper was traded at the 2018 Trade Deadline to the Astros?”
I’m the biggest Bryce Harper fan and I’m tired of waiting for him to debut this season (at first base or otherwise). So, today, let’s ruminate on the previously asked query, as I bring back an old series I used to do on Baseball with Matt called ML”what would”B, where I answered some of baseball’s best hypothetical questions. Let’s have some fun, shall we?
The 2018 Trade Deadline could’ve seen Bryce Harper get traded from the Nationals to the Astros for prospects Abraham Toro, Randy César, Josh James, J.B. Bukauskas, and Kent Emanuel. “Beloved” Astros GM Jeff Luhnow said that the trade simply fell through, so it just didn’t happen, but it seems like the trade was close. So, let’s make the trade close enough to be finalized. Abraham Toro is an infielder, so let’s swap him out for an outfielder to eventually replace Harper. Ever heard of Yordan Alvarez? See my awards predictions post if you haven’t, but he’ll replace Toro to make this deal go through. Even though Toro is the only name from this hypothetical trade that has made somewhat of a name for himself in the Majors, Alvarez is one hundred times the player that Toro could ever dream to be, but Alvarez would not debut in real life until 2019, putting him in a great spot to head to the U.S. capital in our scenario. With this new trade package, Harper heads to the Lone Star State on July 31, 2018, joining a strong Astros lineup that is primed for a postseason run.
The rest of the 2018 MLB regular season resolves itself congruently, with the Astros winning the AL West, but finishing second in the Junior Circuit to the dominant, 108-win Red Sox, whom the ‘Stros meet in the 2018 ALCS. The Nationals, meanwhile, lose a couple of extra games than they did in real life, giving them a higher pick in the 2019 Draft. With that higher pick, they don’t miss out on future #1 MLB prospect Corbin Carroll, taking him one pick ahead of the Diamondbacks. Harper, meanwhile, explodes in his first postseason in Houston, carrying the Astros past the Red Sox in their penultimate playoff matchup to reach the World Series in search of back-to-back titles. They achieve that handedly, beating Manny Machado’s Dodgers in five games to secure Houston’s second World Series trophy. Harper’s success in the postseason prompts the Astros to re-sign him for 13 years at $330 million, while Machado still signs his monster contract in San Diego.
Seeing his fellow 2012 Rookie of the Year win a championship after getting traded, Mike Trout has had it with the Angels. Instead of negotiating an extension with Los Angeles, he requests a trade to his hometown team that just happens to need an outfielder: the Philadelphia Phillies. The Angels brass capitulates and does the deal, receiving prospects Alec Bohm, Ranger Suarez, Matt Vierling, and Cole Irvin from Philly. The Phillies are still able to trade for JT Realmuto, and the rest of the offseason remains unchanged.
Yordan Alvarez bursts onto the scene in 2019, as he starts on Opening Day in right field, with Adam Eaton moving to center field and Victor Robles to the bench. Alvarez and Pete Alonso go toe-to-toe in breaking the rookie home run record, but they end up tied atop the leaderboard at the end of the season with 53 home runs apiece. Alvarez, Juan Soto, and Anthony Rendon power the Nationals to the franchise’s first World Series appearance, where they face… the Yankees? Yes, without the Astros’ Trade Deadline addition of Zack Greinke (in this reality, J.B. Bukauskas is in Washington post-Harper instead of Arizona post-Greinke), Houston loses the ALCS to the Bronx Bombers, who get walloped by Alvarez and the Nats in five games to secure the franchise’s first Commissioner’s Trophy.
With the Angels on the precipice of collapse, Anthony Rendon and Stephen Strasburg re-sign with Washington, while Mike Trout signs a massive extension with the Phillies, who also sign Zack Wheeler, Nick Castellanos, and Mike Moustakas in the 2019-2020 offseason. Eventually, Trout and Bryce Harper give us the Fall Classic matchup we all wanted, as the Phillies and Astros square off in the 2022 World Series. Harper and Houston win it, giving Trout all the motivation to recruit Manny Machado to opt out of his Padres deal and sign with the Phillies. Trea Truner and Max Scherzer are never traded from the Nationals, who have built a powerhouse of a team that includes Juan Soto, free agent Kyle Schwarber, and a now-extended Yordan Alvarez. The NL East becomes the best division in baseball, as the Nationals, Phillies, Mets, and the Shohei Ohtani-led Braves put up 100+ wins for the next half-decade, while the Marlins are forced to relocate to escape their regional hell. Some things remain the same, here in the ML”what would”B.
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