Bryce Harper Jokes Playing Right Field on Road Will 'Suck' After Phillies Trade for Luis Arraez

Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper will be heading back to right field after the team acquired second baseman Luis Arráez ahead of Monday's MLB trade deadline, a move that set off a number of lineup dominoes in Philly.

And Harper joked after the trade that returning to the outfield would have one particular negative aspect:

Because Arráez made it very clear that he wasn't interested in moving off second base if he was traded, the Phillies have said they'll move Harper back to right field, shift Alec Bohm from third base to first and move Bryson Stott from second to third. There is a large contingent of Phillies fans that would prefer to keep Bohm and Harper on the corners and move error-prone shortstop Trea Turner into the outfield instead, with Stott taking over at short, but the Phillies apparently never considered the possibility.

Harper spent his entire career as an outfielder before becoming a full-time first baseman for the Phillies in 2023 after having Tommy John surgery. But he's been adamant that he would willingly return to right field if it would help the team.

"I've said (I'd move) in years past," he told reporters. "I know everybody thinks it's crap when I say it, but it's not. Any chance that we have an opportunity to win—I'd do anything for this organization, and they know that."

The expectation is that he'll ultimately return to first base in 2027, or whenever baseball is played again after this season with the possibility of a labor lockout on the horizon. But for now, he'll once again be greeted with hecklers on the road.