This Tigers-Phillies package could bring Bryce Harper to Detroit (but Scott Harris would never allow it)

For all but five teams, baseball business is at a standstill. The White Sox, Guardians, Rays, Dodgers, and Brewers are still on their postseason quests, but everyone else is just waiting for it to be over (and rooting against the Dodgers) so we can go on with our lives and gear up for 2027.

Some storylines have already sprung up, though, building even more anticipation for when the offseason begins in earnest. One of the biggest is rumors out of Philadelphia, who may be considering at least a partial rebuild after going out in the Wild Card round against the Braves.

It was their fifth postseason appearance and fifth time falling short of a World Series victory in the last five years. The window for a team of stars once thought good enough to rival LA has closed, and Dave Dombrowski is might shop Trea Turner and Bryce Harper to get two massive contracts at least partially off of the books.

This is where the Tigers could come in. Their pipeline took a bit of a tumble in organization rankings thanks to injuries throughout and after Max Clark's graduation, but they still have one of the stronger systems in baseball — and Scott Harris has a good personal relationship with Dombrowski.

Detroit doesn't need Turner, who is coming off of the worst season of his career by far and who would block Kevin McGonigle at shortstop, but Harper (who, mind you, has a no-trade clause) is a more realistic fit.

The only Tigers trade package Phillies would accept for Bryce Harper makes it clear it'll never happen

Harper has five years and around $125.7 million left on his initial 13-year, $330 million contract, and his relationship with the Phillies' brass has seemed tense, at the very least, ever since Dombrowski made the very strange decision to wonder aloud if his star player was still elite.

Harper is 33 and his contract may look very ugly toward its end, so the Phillies may be forced to foot some of the bill, even if they don't want to. Still, Harper is a two-time MVP, a four-time Silver Slugger, and a nine-time All-Star whose plateau is still much, much higher than most. Although Philadelphia could be eager to see him go, they could still ask a lot for him.

This would be at least a starting point for negotiations ... but it's also clear proof that it would never happen.

On one hand, the Tigers could afford to give up these three players. Rainer is ostensibly blocked by McGonigle, who is set to keep on switching back and forth between shortstop and third for the foreseeable future. The major league rotation is also filled with controllable arms, making Flukey and Mayfield more extraneous.

But Harris has said it a hundred times before: he only believes in supplementing. He won't do anything to block younger (and cheaper) players.

Love him or hate him, Harper would do a lot for any baseball team. Tigers fans have been wanting to see some more consistency, a big bat, and an outfielder, all of which Harper has or is. Although it's never going to happen, it's fun to dream.

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