MLB news: Jacob deGrom concerns, White Sox drama, Phillies get surprising praise

MLB news: Bryce Harper gets praise from a surprising source

Remember this moment from late in the 2015 season inside the Washington Nationals dugout?

That was Jonathan Papelbon attacking Bryce Harper. Now, flash forward more than seven years and Papelbon has seemingly morphed into a big Bryce Harper fan.

“Harper has become 10 times the player he was when I played with him, 10 times the leader, and he’s got another guy [Kyle] Schwarber with him to help carry that load,” Papelbon recently said on the Audacy Original Podcast, “Baseball Isn’t Boring.”

Papelbon, who pitched four seasons for the Phillies during his 12-year MLB career that ended in 2016, expressed his love for not only Harper and Schwarber, but the franchise as well, giving praise to plenty of people propelling the Phillies, from Harper and Schwarber to manager Rob Thomson and the front office.

With the Phillies signing Trea Turner this offseason and adding his speed and abilities at the plate and in the field to an already stacked lineup, Philadelphia is positioned to once again represent the National League in the World Series. However, in what will be a brutal division featuring the New York Mets and Atlanta Braves as well, the Phillies will need to focus on surviving the NL East before anything else in 2023.