Trout will be a highly-coveted free agent once his contract with the Angels ends after the '20 seasonGETTY IMAGES
The Angels have contacted MLB regarding Phillies RF Bryce Harper's "public recruitment" of Angels CF Mike Trout, a "possible violation of tampering rules," according to Maria Torres of the L.A. TIMES. Harper yesterday told Philadelphia-based WIP-FM that he "plans to ask Trout to join him on the East Coast as soon as Trout becomes a free agent." Harper said, "If you don't think I'm gonna call Mike Trout to come to Philly in 2020, you're crazy." Torres notes Trout is "under contract" with the Angels through '20. But that has "not prevented Harper from stumping for Trout since the moment he first put on his Phillies jersey during his introductory news conference Saturday" (L.A. TIMES, 3/6). YAHOO SPORTS' Jack Baer writes he does not "expect the league to come down too hard on Harper." Past instances of possible tampering, like Yankees RF Aaron Judge last year telling then-Orioles 3B Manny Machado, "You'd look good in pinstripes," received only a "public reprimand" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 3/6).
WHAT'S THE BIG DEAL? ESPN's Jessica Mendoza said whether Harper is "saying that publicly or saying it behind the scenes, this is something that obviously he's going to want to put out there and everyone knows." Mendoza: "We all talk about it, right? Why can't Harper?" ESPN's Trey Wingo: "He didn't say, 'I'm calling him right now.' He didn't say, 'I'm talking to him while he's under contract.' He said, 'When he is no longer under contract, I'm going to call him then,' and if that has you upset, get out of here." It is "much ado about nothing" ("Golic & Wingo," ESPN Radio, 3/6). ESPN's Michael Wilbon said most tampering rules are "antiquated and stupid and they don't even take into account all the things that go on in social media." Players "should be able to call each other out publicly (and) say whatever you want," and to limit them, to "handcuff them is bad for the sport." ESPN’s Tony Kornheiser said an example of tampering would be if an owner or GM said, "I'd like (to) have this guy." But the players “don't write the contracts, players don’t make the deals, players can do whatever they want" ("PTI," ESPN, 3/5). ESPN’s Rich Davis said of Harper's comment, “It's the right attitude to have. … It's very NBA of him to be like, ‘Who should I team up with to win a championship?’” (“Now or Never,” ESPN2, 3/6).
FIELDER'S CHOICE: Phillies Managing Partner John Middleton said that the organization this offseason "decided to walk away from Machado because they knew that fans overwhelmingly wanted Harper." Middleton: "The one thing that Bryce had over Manny, clearly, is the Philadelphia fans loved him. ... We just felt that taking Manny when Bryce was still available just wasn't going to play well with the fan base. And so we passed." Middleton cited a Twitter poll that ran from Feb. 17-18 in which more than 9,500 people voted, with 86% responding they "preferred Harper over Machado" (MLB.com, 3/5). ESPN’s Israel Gutierrez asked, “Does Manny Machado market himself the same way Bryce Harper does? Does he have the commercials, does he have the video game covers, or is that sort of the chicken and the egg thing?” (“The Dan Le Batard Show,” ESPN Radio, 3/6).
