Bryce Harper entered free agency in 2018 coming off another All-Star season – the sixth of his career – and was due for a big payday. He inked a 13-year, $330 million deal with the Philadelphia Phillies that offseason.

The Phillies weren’t Harper’s top choice heading into that offseason. The Cubs were.

Harper confirmed as much in a recent interview with the Phillies in town to play the Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“Going into that offseason, they were the No. 1 team on my list,” Harper told Patrick Mooney of The Athletic. “Obviously, I’m extremely happy with where I am in Philadelphia. I would never change it for the world. I love the fan base, city, everything. It’s a blast. But pre-2019, going into free agency, the Cubs were at the top of my list.”

The 2018 Cubs finished 95-68 and reached the postseason for the fourth consecutive year. However, they had a five-game lead in the NL Central in early September, only to squander it and lose in Game 163 to the Craig Counsell-led Milwaukee Brewers. The Cubs then were eliminated in the NL Wild Card Game by the Colorado Rockies.

[READ: Cubs manager Craig Counsell gives blunt assessment of Ben Brown]

From March through August in 2018, the Cubs offense was averaging 4.81 runs per game, fifth best in MLB. In September and October, they averaged only 4.03 runs per game – including scoring only 2 combined runs in their losses to the Brewers and Rockies down the stretch. This lead to then-president of baseball operations Theo Epstein to say the Cubs offense “broke.”

The Cubs’ offensive struggles down the stretch had fans clamoring for the team to sign Harper.

There were also a few different connections that fans were clinging to in hopes of bringing Harper to the North Side. Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant and Harper were friends who grew up together in the Las Vegas area. Harper posted a picture of the two together on Instagram in June 2017 with the hashtag ‘#Back2BackOneDay‘, only fueling the speculation.

Harper also had a dog named Wrigley.

“It’s my favorite visiting place to play,” Harper told Mooney of Wrigley Field. “Just the vibes of Chicago and Wrigley Field and the ivy … A summer day in Wrigley, man, it’s one of the best baseball atmospheres in the league.”

Now in his seventh season with the Phillies, Harper has hit 157 home runs and posted a .921 OPS. In 2021, he was the NL MVP and the following season, he led the Phillies to their first World Series appearance since 2009.

The Cubs are a much different team now than the one Harper might have joined in 2019, with Ian Happ as the only remaining player from that time. If nothing else, it’s fun to imagine Harper in that Cubs lineup.