Bryce Harper reportedly FaceTimed Yoshinobu Yamamoto as part of Phillies’ recruiting efforts

The bidding for Japanese superstar Yoshinobu Yamamoto is ramping up, and the Phillies are involving a superstar of their own in their efforts to get him in red pinstripes.

The Phillies met with the three-time Sawamura Award winner on Thursday, and MLB Network‘s Jon Morosi reported on Monday that Bryce Harper spoke with Yamamoto via FaceTime as part of the team’s pitch.

It’s not the first time Harper has dabbled in the recruiting waters as a Phillie. In his introductory press conference after signing as a free agent in 2019, he hinted at making a run at Mike Trout in Trout’s upcoming free agency (which never actually happened), and he was even more direct in his successful pitch to Trea Turner last offseason.

Whether Harper’s words ultimately have the same outcome for Yamamoto that they did for Turner — that is, the Phillies sign him — is to be determined. As his sweepstakes continue, though, it’s becoming more apparent that it might take a a similar contract offer. While Jeff Passan of ESPN reports that teams have been asked not to actual make offers yet (beyond just preliminary bids to indicate interest), they’ll likely begin talking numbers on Monday — and the winning figures are widely expected to be in the ballpark of $300 million.

The Phillies have competitors. Two of them are in New York City. Another is in Los Angeles and just pulled off quite the pitch themselves by showing Shohei Ohtani a recruitment video from Kobe Bryant to win him over. All have pockets that run deep and perhaps even more desperation than the Phillies do in the starting pitching market.

But however real the Phillies’ pursuit is, it certainly wouldn’t be real without some Harper mixed in.

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