Bryce Harper spent New Year’s Eve with a well-known Cubs outfielder and it’s spurred some wishful thinking in the Windy City.
That’s right. The high profile free agent reportedly counted down to midnight with Kris Bryant, who currently plays left field and third base for the Cubs. (RELATED: Bryce Harper’s Latest Offseason Move Will Confuse Everybody)
Bryant’s wife, Jessica, posted a photo to her Instagram story of the four goofing around at a New Year’s party in a photo booth. The photo disappeared after 24 hours — but not before the Cubs’ official NBC Sports Twitter account picked it up and tweeted it out:
Look who rang the new year in together
(via @Jess__Bryant) pic.twitter.com/9Hp8hhbxII
— Cubs Talk (@NBCSCubs) January 1, 2019
Which obviously caused pandemonium. NBC Sports even pushed an article on Twitter with the descriptor: “Was one of @Bharper3407 resolutions to spend 2019 (and beyond) in a #Cubs uniform?”
While it’s a well-known fact that Bryce Harper and Kris Bryant are longtime friends, many Cubs fans are now hoping that this at least marginally increased Harper’s chances of putting on the blue pinstripes. He’s hinted in the past that he likes Chicago, and teams continue to drop out of the courtship process on a weekly basis. Neither the Phillies nor the Yankees are reportedly interested in Harper, and if he wants to be in a city with a big market (and even bigger wallets), it looks like Chicago’s chances increase by the day.
Still, there are two teams in Chicago, and if Harper wants to give Kris Bryant room to breathe up in Wrigleyville, there’s a good chance he sets his sights on the South Side.
We’ll keep you posted.