Jun 21, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Bryce Harper (3) looks on against the Arizona Diamondbacks after the seventh inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports Kyle Ross
Once upon a time, there was a thought Bryce Harper would wind up in Hollywood when he became a free agent.
However, when Harper actually hit the open market after the 2018 season, the Los Angeles Dodgers only offered the then-26-year-old short-term deals with early opt outs that would have allowed him to get back to the free agent market again before he was 30. Harper opted for the stability of the 13-year/$330 million offer from the Phillies.
But with the Dodgers in town Friday, Harper made clear that he still has a ton of respect for the organization and the city of Los Angeles. This came when he was asked about those who have complained about the Dodgers spending more money than other teams, using deferrals at an unprecedented rate and having more success luring Japanese talents than any other organization.
"I don't know if people will like this, but I feel like only losers complain about what they're doing," Harper said in a matter-of-fact manner. "I think they're a great team, they're a great organization — that's why guys wanna go there and play.
"LA's a great city to play in, obviously," Harper continued. "They're at the mecca of kind of the world of everything, right? From food to nightlife to sports ... from the Dodgers, to the Lakers to anybody. No, I mean they're going to continue to get guys, they're going to pull guys from the sport ... if that's bullpen, starting pitching, international players ... anything like that. They're doing what the Dodgers do."
Bryce Harper on Dodgers: “I feel like only losers complain about what they’re doing.”
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As we wrote in the offseason during Juan Soto's free agency, there was an element of luck when Harper became a free agent that other major-market teams like the Dodgers and New York Yankees weren't seriously bidding against the Phillies, because who knows how that would have played out. But in general, the Phillies have done about as well as the Dodgers in acquiring external talent already in the league.
Where the Dodgers have lapped the Phillies — and most of the league — is in the Japanese market. While they do have a geographical advantage, they were ahead of the curve in realizing the importance of that market. They signed Hideo Nomo ahead of the 1995 season. The Phillies have still never had a Japanese-born player make their MLB debut with them.
Obviously, Shohei Ohtani is the biggest Japanese star on the Dodgers, and is the current face of the sport. He's an incredible recruiting tool. Ohtani helped the Dodgers to lure Yoshinobu Yamamoto before the 2024 season, despite other teams like the Phillies seemingly making earnest efforts. Then this past offseason, the Dodgers landed another prize Japanese arm in Roki Sasaki, who didn't end up meeting with the Phillies even though they were interested.
Eventually, the Phillies will make inroads in Japan, but it's unlikely they'll ever be able to compete with the Dodgers consistently for the top talents from that country.
There's a larger discussion about the economics of baseball that's going to happen after the 2026 season, when the current collective bargaining agreement expires. The Dodgers deferring so much money into the future will likely be a point of contention, because it's become a way to lower the luxury tax threshold in the present. Maybe that loophole needs to be closed.
But for now, the Dodgers are wise to exploit the loophole. All other 29 teams are allowed to defer money as well. Whether they choose to do so or not, they're going to have to compete with the Dodgers, who are the best-run organization in baseball right now.
