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Phillies' Bryce Harper Makes Cubs' Kris Bryant Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Jon Conahan | Last updated Apr 28, 2025 3:36 PM ET

Bryce Harper admitted on Sunday that the Chicago Cubs were the team he wanted to sign with during free agency. Instead, Harper took a deal with the Philadelphia Phillies for 13 years and $330 million during the 2019 winter.

Harper, one of the top players in Major League Baseball, would've certainly been a great addition for the Cubs.

Unfortunately, and perhaps not much of a surprise to the fan base due to the ownership's recent unwillingness to spend, Harper clearly didn't get the deal he was looking for, and hopefully, that isn't the trend moving forward.

Whether it will be or not remains to be seen, but Harper spoke about what the Cubs had to offer him, and also talked about how fans played a part in his free agency that winter.

He grew up with Kris Bryant, a Cubs Legend, in Las Vegas. Many believed there could’ve been a scenario where Bryant played an impact in his free agency, but he didn't, and the Cubs cut ties with him just two years after Harper took that deal.

“Fans are going to play with that a little bit,” Harper said, per Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “I think it’s fun; Kris is definitely a little bit more reserved than I am with that kind of stuff. But I think it was real. For me, it was definitely real, wanting to possibly come here and play. But, again, where the organization was, you had no idea what they were going to do.”

Unlike Harper, Bryant hasn't found similar success since the 2019 campaign.

Whether it be injuries or below-average numbers, he hasn't been the same player. Harper, however, has won an MVP Award and has arguably been a top-five player in the league since.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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