Bryce Harper Talks Phillies, World Series, Fanatics and More in B/R Interview

Bryce Harper is setting the bar high for his Philadelphia Phillies in 2022.

"I know, as a team, we just don't want to be a playoff team," he told Bleacher Report in an exclusive interview. "We want to be a world champion team."

One look at Philadelphia's roster suggests that could happen. Not only is Harper, the reigning National League MVP, back, but he will also be surrounded by sluggers such as Kyle Schwarber, Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto and Rhys Hoskins in a lineup that could be one of the best in the league.

It will need to be considering the defending champion Atlanta Braves and the revamped New York Mets, who added Max Scherzer to a rotation that already included Jacob deGrom, are in the National League East with the Phillies. 

Throw in the loaded Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, and Philadelphia has its hands full heading into the new season.

"We're ready to work," Harper said. "It's never easy, especially in the National League East. It's always been a tough division ever since I started with the Nationals. I don't think any team is ever solidified on paper; you can have the best team in baseball and still lose games.

"Those are juggernauts of teams in the Dodgers, Atlanta, Mets, Yankees, Red Sox, anybody in the game. It's something that is special about the game of baseball: you never know who is going to win or what team is going to get hot at the right time. I think the team that we have has a really good opportunity to get into the playoffs."

The postseason is somewhere the Phillies have not been since 2011, but they took two notable steps toward changing that this offseason when they agreed to a four-year deal with Schwarber and to a five-year deal with Castellanos.

Schwarber was an All-Star last year, when he split time with the Washington Nationals and Red Sox. He launched 32 home runs, marking the third time in his career he reached the 30-homer mark.

He was also a World Series hero in 2016, returning from a torn ACL and LCL to hit .412 across 17 at-bats for the Chicago Cubs.

"Schwarber, he's a proven winner," Harper said. "He's somebody I think is going to fit in with our team really well. He's going to fit in with the fanbase really well. He loves the game of baseball—he's a baseball rat. He loves playing the game, and he works hard every day. Just being able to talk to him the past couple of days, I've really enjoyed getting to know him, and I'm really excited for him to be part of our lineup."

Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

As for Castellanos, he was one of the best offensive players in baseball last season for the Cincinnati Reds. He slashed .309/.362/.576 with 34 home runs and 100 RBI as an All-Star and Silver Slugger winner.

He also brought a passion and energy to the ballpark that will surely play well in Philadelphia.

"He's just going to fit in so well with the city," Harper said of his new teammate. "He's someone who is so hardworking. He doesn't miss many baseballs. He's very good at squaring pitches up.

"He's a great person on and off the field. I've known him since we were 15 or 16 years old, playing with each other for Team USA. He's a guy you love on your team but don't like him on the other team just because he plays with so much passion and fire that you're, like, 'Who is this guy?!' But I've always enjoyed playing with him, and he's just somebody who I think is going to fit in really well with our clubhouse."

The Phillies were 82-80 last season and have one of the best players in the game anchoring their lineup in Harper. They could have easily added a secondary piece or two this offseason and seen it as enough to be a fringe contender, but they instead added two of the top available options.

Harper and the clubhouse noticed.

"Any time you can add a type of player like that, and for us to add two of them, I was kind of shocked about that," he said. "I didn't think that was going to happen, and it surprised me, which I was pumped about. I think it surprised a lot of us in the clubhouse. But when you have an owner who is committed to winning and committed to a franchise, that's what happens. For him to be able to do that let us know that he's all about winning."

His praise for managing partner John Middleton comes after the players and ownership were at odds on a larger level for much of the offseason.

The league-initiated lockout lasted 99 days as the two sides negotiated a new collective bargaining agreement. The second-longest work stoppage in MLB history dragged on as topics such as the competitive balance tax threshold, international draft, minimum salaries and the pre-arbitration bonus pool each took center stage at different times.

There were certainly times when it appeared as if the season would be delayed into the late spring or even the summer. Harper even took to Instagram to tease a potential deal with Japan's Yomiuri Giants in a tongue-in-cheek post:

While the Phillies star will not be playing in Nippon Professional Baseball this year, he did understand the magnitude of what was at stake during the negotiations.

"I think being able to sit back and look at it from afar, I don't think any of us were really worried about missing games," he said. "Being able to get the right deal for the players and understand what we need to do for future generations of this game while also understanding that we, as players, and the fans as well, that we can't just sit here and not play another 162-game year.

"That would have killed us, not being able to do that, if we're trying to grow the game in the right direction and trying to do everything possible to keep baseball on the map. A 162-game season had to happen. There's a little bit of give and take with the understanding of what we needed to do. I think a lot of guys are just really happy to be back, myself included."

Harper has more in store than just a return to the field.

He entered into an exclusive memorabilia and collectibles partnership with Fanatics that will allow the company to be the sole distributor of his autographs, collectibles, game-used equipment and more.

With the exclusive memorabilia deal, Harper will be joining Fanatics' roster of athletes, which also includes Shohei Ohtani, Tom Brady, Russell Wilson, Joe Burrow, Sabrina Ionescu and Chris Paul.

"I'm just really excited and thrilled to be with Fanatics," he said of what he called a "no-brainer" decision to join the company. "... They're the clear-cut favorite in this category, and they have so many players, from Tom Brady to Shohei to J.T. on my team to Russell Wilson to Chris Paul. It's such a great group of guys. They love their product and care about their product and the quality of it. It's fun to be a part of this."

AP Photo/Lynne Sladky

Harper adds plenty of star power to Fanatics' lineup.

After all, his resume includes a National League Rookie of the Year, two NL MVPs, two Silver Sluggers and six All-Star selections. He slashed .309/.429/.615 with 35 home runs, 84 RBI, 100 walks and 13 stolen bases while also leading the league with 42 doubles and a 1.044 OPS mark on the way to his second career MVP last year.

He is one of the best players of his generation, but he isn't focused on stats heading into a new season.

"Every single year, you try to play to the best of your ability and play the game the right way," he said when asked what individual success in 2022 will look like. "You have to understand that you play 162 games for a reason. You can't just let a month or two dictate who you are or what you do. You have to play the whole year.

"I don't really talk about numbers or stats or anything like that, but I know if I play well, things will happen at the end of the year that I want to happen. But at the same time, the main goal for myself and everyone else is to win a world championship. That's what it's all about. I'm really excited to go about it this year and do that to the best of my ability."

A World Series ring is about the only thing missing from his resume, but that might change in 2022.