Washington Nationals’ closer Sean Doolittle “selfishly” hopes Bryce Harper returns to D.C.

Like just about every other player who walked into the so-called media pit last weekend at Washington Nationals’ Winterfest in D.C., Nats’ closer Sean Doolittle was asked how often he’s asked about free agent outfielder Bryce Harper and where the 26-year-old is going to end up signing this winter.

“Quite a lot,” Doolittle laughed.

“Like do they think I have some sort of inside info, which I definitely don’t? So, I’ve been reading all the stuff just like everybody else.”

Doolittle, who was acquired by the Nationals in a July 2017 trade with the Oakland A’s and had a $6M option for 2019 exercised earlier this winter, talked on MLB Network Radio on Thursday afternoon about the additions Washington has made already this winter (adding Kyle Barraclough and Trevor Rosenthal to the bullpen, Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes behind the plate, and Patrick Corbin to the rotation) and one that he thinks would be the icing on top when he was asked if he’s thought about preparing for life without Harper in D.C.

“Oh, man, I don’t even want to think about it. It would be weird, right? It would be weird,” Doolittle told hosts Ryan Spilborghs and Jensen Lewis.

“[Harper has] been the face, one of the faces of this franchise since, shoot, 2012 when he got called up? After I got traded over I really saw kind of what he meant to this organization, what he meant to this city, D.C., and to see him in a different uniform it would be really strange. Selfishly, I really do hope he’s back. I think the additions that we’ve made so far this offseason have been awesome and they’re really exciting and if you’re able to add somebody like a Bryce Harper, I mean that’s kind of like you have your cake and you get to eat it too, and that makes it really exciting to think about what could happen not just next year but down the road.

“I really don’t know, I wish I had some extra insight, but I’m sure he’s got some pretty serious options and things that he has to weigh. I think we’re all just kind of waiting and reading all the rumors and trying to figure it out too.”