“Want to be here for a long time,” Bryce Harper wishes to play with Phillies till 40s amidst contract extension talks

Bryce Harper will enter the sixth year of his 13-year, $330 million contract which he signed back in 2019.

“Want to be here for a long time,” Bryce Harper wishes to play with Phillies till 40s amidst contract extension talks

Bryce Harper (Image via Imago)

With the MLB spring training on the horizon, things have speed up a bit in the past few days. One thing that has not speeded up is the contract talk of Bryce Harper. The Philadelphia Phillies star wants to get that thing out of his way soon as he expresses his desire to stay with the team for a long time.

In 2019, he signed a massive 13-year, $330 million contract with the team. This would see him play with the Phillies until 2031. By this time his contract runs out he would be 38 years old.

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Harper though now is envisioning a much larger stay with the team and would be happy to play till his 40s with them.

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I haven't really thought too much about that. I want to be here for a long time... playing into my 40s. I mean, that's the biggest thing for me. So I want to get that done.
Bryce Harper on his contract situation as per MLB.com.

The 7-time All-Star further claimed that he has spoken about this with his agent Scott Boras. However, the way things have gone so far, the word might have not reached to team owner John Middleton just yet. Only time will tell on whether Harper will get his wish fulfilled.

Bryce Harper willing to move to first base ahead of 2024 season

Shifting positions in baseball are never easy. A player has to undergo various tactical changes while adapting to a new position. Recently, news broke about a similar change regarding Xander Bogaerts, who will now transition into second base from the shortstop position. Bryce Harper is the now the latest player who will enter a new territory in the upcoming season.

At the start of this career, Harper played in the outfield position and sometimes as a designated hitter. This though changed last season when he moved to first base. The 31-year-old slugger volunteered to play on this position following his return from injury after Rhys Hoskins was himself sidelined from the team.

Bryce Harper
Bryce Harper (Image via TSN)

In 2023, Harper made 36 starts from the first base including 13 in the playoffs. He will now enter the 2024 campaign in this position and has expressed he was down with everything the team had planned for him.

I wanted them to know that I was on board with anything that they wanted to do. I said if you want me in right field, I’ll play right. If you want me at first, I’ll play first base.
Bryce Harper on playing at first base as per MLB.com.

The 2021 National League MVP is now aiming to do one better than last season. In 2023, the Phillies once again knocked out Atlanta Braves in the NLDS but came up short against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the NLCS.

This came after they reached the World Series in 2022 where they fell short against a dominant Houston Astros side. They will start their conquest for a World Series ring in 2024 on February 23 when they take on the Toronto Blue Jays in their first game of the Spring training.

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