Earlier this month Vegas put some pretty decent odds on Washington Nationals' star Bryce Harper landing with the Phillies in free agency when 2019 rolls around.
Our very own Mike Murphy made a pretty decent case for it: championship contention, boatloads of money, hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, etc. The Phillies and Haper do make some sense.
And then today on 97.5 The Fanatic's midday show with Rob Ellis, after discussing the loss of Phillies' legend Dallas Green, former Phillies great and MLB hit king Pete Rose weighed in on the prospect of Harper joining the Phillies.
Rose was asked if he thinks Harper would fit in well in Philly.
"Yes, because he plays hard," Rose said.
"Trout would be a good player in Philadelphia," he added. "It seems like all the great players in MLB today -- the superstars -- they all play hard. It's hard to be a great player today and not play hard. Because people aren't stupid. People are watching you on a nightly basis."
"If you don't play hard, don't go to Philadelphia. That's gonna be the wrong place for you to play. And that's a credit to the fans in Philadelphia."
MLB
Rose also believes the Phillies have a man at the top who is willing to make a big splash in order to win.
"Mr. Middleton will spend whatever you need to win. I love John Middleton. He's a great owner. I would have loved to play for him because he's not stingy with his checkbook."
"You have to have somebody who knows what parts of the puzzle to give the money to. You don't have to rebuild, you have to add two or three ingredients to your situation so you can win."
Rose will have a chance to get on the Phillies Wall of Fame, so you will likely be hearing more from him this summer.