Washington Nationals moves in free agency to affect position of Bryce Harper - MLB Update
Bryce Harper is one of those players that can be moved anywhere in the outfield.
Either it is centre field or left, he can be equally successful. He is tall and has enough power in his shoulders that he can throw effectively while standing anywhere in the outfield.
Such a distinction has made it doubtful that whether he will play next year at his current position or not.
All depends on the way the Nationals do their shopping in the free agent market. If they are unsuccessful in signing first baseman Adam LaRoche, switching positions of some of the players on their roster will become indispensable.
For example, in this particular case, Michael Morse will have to be forced to leave left field and take over first base. Resultantly, Harper will be assuming the position of Morse.
In essence, the Nationals buying in the market is going to decide as to at which position Harper stands in the field next year.
Harper is young and enthusiastic as he is ready to serve the team in whatever role they assign to him.
However as he gets older, his agility in the field will suffer. He may be unable to throw as effectively from a distance as he can do so now. At that time, the centre field, which imposes a huge burden on the shoulders of the fielders, will not remain an
ideal place for him.
The Nationals are conscious of the possibility that they may have to rotate Harper to another position after the passage of some years in order to alleviate the burden on him.
Scott Boras, the agent of Harper, holds the view that the kind of offensive significance he has for the team, he may have to be removed from his present position in the field earlier than expected.
Believing that the Nationals cannot risk injuring him due to an excessive workload on the shoulders, he stated that they may look to send him somewhere in the corner outfield down the line.
“When their weight gets above 225 to 240 [pounds], and these guys can leap so high because they’re so athletic . . . the stress on their joints and ligaments is immense,” Boras said. “Particularly when they’re middle-of-the-lineup hitters, each team has
to balance that risk factor. In the end, those types of players usually end up being corner outfielders because they’re so valuable offensively. You don’t want to risk too much on the requirements and burdens of center field on those types of athletes.”
Harper is an amazing talent. While he performed extremely well during 2012 regular season, his best has yet to come. Next season will be another opportunity for him to prove his talents.
The kind of prodigy he demonstrated in his only Major League regular season, it can be predicted that he will be even more productive in the years to come.
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