Phillies’ Dave Dombrowski Says Bryce Harper Will Exclusively Play First Base in 2024
Bryce Harper’s days as an outfielder appear to be finished, with the Philadelphia Phillies superstar set to become an exclusive first baseman starting next season.
The 31-year-old moved to first in 2023 after returning ahead of schedule from Tommy John surgery, replacing the injured Rhys Hoskins, who tore his ACL last spring and missed the entire campaign. Since that transition went off without a hitch, it’ll remain his full-time position moving forward.
It was mutually agreed upon by Harper and Phillies president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, who revealed the positional change at the GM Meetings in Arizona earlier this week.
“We decided we’re going to play him at first base,” Dombrowski told reporters on Wednesday. “He’s happy to do whatever we wanted him to do. He said he’d play first or the outfield. He feels great. But the more we talked about it internally we liked the idea of playing him at first. We think he’ll develop into a Gold Glove first baseman. He’s committed to doing that.”
Harper exceeded all expectations at first base this past season, as he registered +1 Defensive Runs Saved across 303.0 innings. Plus, he finished in a four-way tie (Freddie Freeman, Paul Goldschmidt, Ryan O’Hearn) for the fifth-most Outs Above Average among MLB first baseman with +3.
Now across the age-30 threshold, the Phillies hope a permanent place in the infield will help preserve the seven-time All-Star’s long-term health across the remainder of his monster 13-year contract, which runs through 2031.
“He’s in a position where we think for his future it’s a great thing to do as he starts to age,” Dombrowski said. “He can gladly go to the outfield, but he’s committed to being that type of guy over there at first base.”
Dombrowski added there are no plans for Harper to return to right field – where he spent the first 11 seasons of his career – on occasion in 2024 or beyond. That should, however, free up plenty of reps for Nick Castellanos.
Kyle Schwarber also figures to benefit from this announcement, as the left-handed slugger can continue operating as the club’s primary DH without sharing as many at-bats with Harper. As a result, that could lead to additional opportunities for outfielders Brandon Marsh, Cristian Pache and Johan Rojas.
But it does likely signal the end of Hoskins’ tenure with the Phillies organization, which the free-agent first baseman learned while speaking to Dombrowski last weekend.
“We look at Bryce being our first baseman, we look at [Kyle] Schwarber being our DH the majority of the time,” Dombrowski said. “So, I did talk to Rhys on Sunday, let him know about the situation. I gave him a call and just explained the situation.”
“Because, as you know, we absolutely think the world of him and [Hoskins’ wife] Jayme. They’re just wonderful people. They’ve done so much for the community. We don’t want to 100 percent close any doors, but I’d say when we look at the situation… he understood. If he’s not back with us, we wish him nothing but the best. But he’s fantastic.”
Hoskins, a fifth-round selection by Philadelphia in 2014, is unlikely to return next season after reaching free agency earlier this off-season. If he signs elsewhere, it’ll mark the end of his memorable tenure with the franchise.
The 30-year-old righty made his big-league debut in 2017, blasting 18 home runs as a rookie across just 50 games. He quickly emerged as a reliable middle-of-the-order threat, hitting 148 bombs with 405 RBIs and a .242/.353/.492 slash line across six seasons with the Phillies.
Coming off a lost season, Hoskins is featured among a relatively thin class of free-agent hitters, though he does possess the luxury of not being tied to a qualifying offer – which should boost his market value.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
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