Bryce Harper: Why the Chicago White Sox should sign free agent

Bryce Harper, a National League MVP at 23, is a free agent at 26, peddling his services in an industry that’s grown to nearly $11 billion in annual revenues. His combination of skills, age and marketing cachet make him an excellent fit for any major league franchise.

Including the Chicago White Sox.

Harper, who has 184 career home runs and a lifetime .900 OPS, rejected a 10-year, $300 million contract offer from the Washington Nationals in September, and is a good bet to set a new standard for the most lucrative contract in North American sports history.

It may take weeks for that process to play out. In the meantime, USA TODAY Sports will examine why every team could use Harper’s services – some more than others, certainly some better-equipped to procure them.

A case for Harper and the White Sox joining forces:

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On the field

This would be so simple: Sign Harper, roll him out in right field and let the franchise coalesce around him. The White Sox have been peddling incumbent right fielder Avisail Garcia and may be inclined to simply non-tender the 2019 free agent if they can’t find a taker.

Waiting for the kids on the farm to blossom will be the intriguing part.

The White Sox’s once-reluctant teardown has gone in fits and starts, and a 100-loss season in 2018 saw its share of low points: Yoan Moncada’s AL-leading 217 strikeouts, Michael Kopech’s Tommy John surgery, shortstop Tim Anderson’s aversion to getting on base.

A second wave of prospects is about to hit, however.

Leading the way is outfielder Eloy Jimenez, who is primed for a late-April debut once the White Sox have sufficiently robbed him of a year of service time. He was ready to roll by the end of last year, when he produced 22 homers and a .961 OPS in 108 games at Class AA and AAA.

Cuban signee Luis Robert is probably a year behind Jimenez but dazzled in a brief Arizona Fall League appearance and has the goods to hold down center field in Chicago. Nick Madrigal, the fourth overall pick in the 2018 draft, is poised to become a fixture at second base for the next decade. And the White Sox will add the third overall pick in 2019 to this mix.

Naturally, there will be growing pains with this group. Yet dropping Harper into the middle of the lineup would alleviate pressure on all of them – and perhaps give holdovers like Moncada and Anderson a chance to catch their breath and take the final steps in development.

Should most of the position players pan out, that would afford the White Sox significant cost savings to apply toward pitching if need be. Even still, Kopech should be ready to roll by 2020, with fellow right-handers Dylan Cease and Dane Dunning knocking on the door in the high minors.

Meanwhile, Harper could age gracefully at Guaranteed Rate Field, with the option to serve as designated hitter in the latter years of his deal.

Off the field

Signing a big-bucks free agent still in his prime would be a new experience for the White Sox, who certainly do not skimp on bronze: 11 statues of franchise legends dot the Guaranteed Rate Field grounds. Most are native White Sox (such as Luis Aparicio, Frank Thomas, Harold Baines) or came into their own on the South Side (Nellie Fox, Paul Konerko).

Harper would be joining Carlton Fisk as a potential Hall of Famer shifting gears mid-career. But nine of Fisk’s 11 All-Star Game nods came as Red Sox.

Harper conceivably has many of his best years ahead of him and would give perpetually star-crossed White Sox fans someone to believe in.

Is it hard to imagine his hair flips playing among the South Side denizens? Not really. Put Harper in the silver and black and make him the heel-turning alternative to his blue-eyed pal on the other end of the Red Line.

Indeed, the pregame bro hugs would be ample should Harper and Kris Bryant square off a half-dozen times a season.

Why they could pull it off

With a franchise value of $1.5 billion and annual revenues of $266 million, as estimated by Forbes, the White Sox certainly have the wherewithal. Thanks to a bevy of trades to accelerate this rebuild, they have less than $6 million committed to the 2020 payroll and only Anderson is guaranteed money beyond that.

Yes, the war chest is deep – but probably not as deep as, say, the Philadelphia Phillies, who sound willing to commit nearly a billion dollars for both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado.

The White Sox probably won’t go that crazy, and perhaps would prefer Machado over Harper. Either way, the prospects in the pipeline and the cash on hand create ideal conditions for a significant free agent strike.

Will it happen?

Possibly. The White Sox need a jolt: Attendance fell to 1.6 million last season, their meekest turnout since 1999, and TV ratings on NBC Sports Chicago can only go up. Their 2005 World Series championship bought them significant leeway – they drew nearly 3 million in 2006 and stayed above the 2 million mark through 2011.

Now, it’s time to regain some of that relevance. Ultimately, winning is the only panacea. Harper would be a key part of that formula – and in the meantime, make the White Sox matter again.