Bryce Harper's response to Phillies trade rumors will have Yankees fans salivating

We are pretty positive it's not going to happen, but Bryce Harper seems as if he's the most likely to get traded that he'll ever be. Again, we aren't entirely confident the New York Yankees would consider the move because that would mean they'd admit to being wrong after passing on Harper back in 2018, but hear us out.

We've already talked about Dave Dombrowski's comments and how they might have affected Harper's future in Philly. While the Phillies president of baseball operations clarified what he meant and then said there was absolutely no intention to trade Harper, the former MVP came out and had words of his own.

Could that tip the scales? Harper has a full no-trade clause and could theoretically force his way out if he wanted to. Did the Phillies get what they want? Or did they make a mistake by being too candid?

After all of the fallout from Dombrowski's comments and speculation on Harper's future, the slugger spoke honestly to the The Athletic recently about how the trade buzz made him uncomfortable, alluding to his days with the Washington Nationals when he couldn't escape it. As Harper's cost was rising in arbitration and there were rumors about him rejecting the Nats' contract overtures, the trade chatter increased.

If he's now reached an unimaginable point in his Phillies tenure, might that clear a path to the Yankees — the team he was always believed to have wanted to land with when he was hitting free agency?

“I have given my all to Philly from the start,” Harper said. “Now there is trade talk? I made every effort to avoid this. It’s all I heard in D.C. (with the Nationals). I hated it. It makes me feel uncomfortable.”

Bryce Harper uncomfortable with Phillies trade talk. Hello, Yankees?

Harper has six years and $150 million remaining on his contract, which is the current ballpark projection for Cody Bellinger in free agency. With first base a question for New York, could this be the move? Are Harper's comments enough to sway Brian Cashman to pick up the phone?

Yankees fans would love it ... which means the Yankees front office will not. At least, that's what it's felt like over the past 15 years. Then again, with a lockout looming after the 2026 season, New York definitely needs to make sure it's in prime position to avoid getting burned by a work stoppage. They need as close to a fully functioning roster as they can possibly have, avoiding the type of personnel turnover they've had over the past five years.

Harper would give them security, as well as an edge the rest of the roster has seemingly lacked when it comes to crunch time. There are ways to free up money, too, if they want to clear some space to make sure they don't have too many aging players making $25+ million.

Or they could throw caution to the wind and try to take home a title in 2026 and not worry about what's to come. But we know they also don't do that anymore, so we're not sure what to expect this offseason.