Report: Nationals have indeed made Bryce Harper available for trade

We’re guessing to actually land Bryce Harper, you’d have to make an offer that would blow the Nationals away.

There are trades in Major League Baseball every year, and some are of the significant variety. None in recent years, however, figure to be as big as seeing Bryce Harper dealt away by the Washington Nationals — something that has apparently moved from pipe dream to possibility ahead of Tuesday’s MLB trade deadline.

While there have been rumblings of teams calling the Nationals asking about Harper, that’s hardly surprising. What is more stunning is that Washington would actually say it would be willing to entertain offers.

Yet that’s exactly what a source has told MLB.com executive reporter Mark Feinsand:

Put simply, players of Harper’s caliber simply don’t change teams at the deadline very often. Not only is he the unquestionable face of the franchise, he’s one of the top 20 players in all of baseball. Despite hitting just .220 at the plate so far this season, Harper still has a very healthy OPS of .842, and perhaps more importantly, is just 25 years old, meaning it’s quite likely we haven’t seen the best of him.

Trading Harper would send a strong message to Nationals fans that the club has simply given up on this iteration of the team, which would leave almost everyone wondering what would come next. A complete rebuild is something that no one has really entertained for Washington, yet dealing Harper would inevitably conjure up that ghost pretty quickly.

It would likely take an amazing offer to get Washington to part with him, but just the fact that it’s possible should make Tuesday more intriguing than before. If any team wants to push all-in with its chips to chase a World Series title this year, at least they now know for sure who to call.