As you may have noticed, neither Manny Machado nor Bryce Harper have signed anywhere yet. Las Vegas might think a union between Harper and the Phillies is inevitable, but until we see a signature on the dotted line, there’s no reason to feel confident.
While there is still hope that both players sign with the Phillies, it is much more realistic to expect that at least one of the two will end up with another team, and that’s going to make a lot of fans upset. But there are degrees of upset, and not every alternative Macharper destination is going to cause the same amount of angst.