Bryce Harper doesn’t sound interested in becoming Phillies leadoff hitter

Bryce Harper self identifies as a No. 3 hitter. He’s comfortable in the No. 2 spot. He was brilliant in the cleanup spot for the Phillies during the 2022 postseason.

He is not interested in becoming the Phillies leadoff hitter. Harper, when speaking with reporters in Clearwater over the weekend, said, “I’ll take the extra at-bats, but I don’t want to hit leadoff.”

Harper was the Phillies’ leadoff hitter for a brief period of time in August 2019. Manager Gabe Kapler was looking to create a spark offensively. He went to Harper with two separate lineups before an Aug. 9 game against the Giants in San Francisco and asked if he was comfortable with batting leadoff. Harper obliged and he went 2-for-4 with a pair of home runs. His second home run, a three-run go-ahead blast in the seventh, silenced hecklers in the crowd.

“You pretty much only lead off once during one game so the only thing is I’m going to get more at-bats, so I’m excited about that,” Harper told reporters at the time, including Meghan Montemurro. “Have an opportunity to get on base a couple more times.”

Less than a week later, Harper was back floating between the No. 2 and 3 spot. He has started in only one game as a leadoff hitter since the 2019 season.

With not much going on in Phillies camp this year, a big storyline is potential changes to the batting order. Kyle Schwarber has been the Phillies’ primary leadoff hitter with Trea Turner batting second, Harper third and a combination of Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto and Nick Castellanos in the cleanup spot.

The lineup has mostly worked, but like any batting order Rob Thomson makes, there are tradeoffs. The Phillies have enjoyed all 38 of Schwarber’s leadoff home runs in the regular season and postseason combined, but would like to see some of those count for a little more by giving him more opportunities with runners on base. Harper also sees a lower percentage of pitches in the strike zone than any other hitter in baseball over the past two seasons. A lack of protection could be part of the issue.

With the Phillies interested in moving Schwarber down and Harper’s lack of interest in leading off, the next best fit is Trea Turner. He has spent plenty of time in the leadoff spot as a member of the Washington Nationals. The Phillies hope moving him up could help facilitate a more balanced approach for Turner.

Phillies hitting coach Kevin Long said as much in an interview with The Athletic’s Matt Gelb.

“But does it flip a switch for Trea? And does it help us become a better ballclub? Let’s see,” Long said. “Turning him into a guy who … let’s just score runs. We need you to score runs. Let’s lead the league. Let’s cause havoc on the basepaths. Let’s control the strike zone. Because the more you can control the strike zone, the more you’re going to be on base. We know what happens when you do that. You’re one of the best players in the league.”

We’ll get a better feel for what Thomson wants to do when Grapefruit League games begin this weekend.