I'll say this for Harper, I wasn't sold on him as the "answer," but the guy has made all the right moves, from signing a 13 year contract without opt outs and making it clear he was committing himself to the team and the city, to his stated focus on conditioning and nutrition.
This may be why they focused on him rather than Machado, by this sort of commitment, Harper takes himself out of the "mercenary" category and becomes a potential "Mr Phillie," the star who anchors the clubhouse, who takes the leadership role, deflects the media pressure from his teammates, and establishes a team identify for the long haul.
And that matters because whoever they bring in, there will be a strong clubhouse culture built around Harper, Nola, Hoskins and other players who become the core instead of it shifting every two to three years.
