In Bryce Harper’s possible last home game in Washington, his potential replacement was the star

Bryce Harper showed up to Nationals Park on Wednesday afternoon more than three hours before the game against the Marlins was set to start and put on his jersey long before he had to so he could properly appreciate what it felt like wearing it for what could be the last time.

In the last few days, Harper has been far more open about where the future might take him than ever before. He spoke to the Washington Post about how much he likes D.C., how much he wants to be part of the team’s plans going forward but knows that’s not a guarantee, and seemed prepared to face an offseason that will finally end years of rumors about possible landing spots for the young star. After one more free agency frenzy, of course.

No one knows what offseason will bring, but everyone was rightly treating it as a goodbye. Better to give him a good sendoff and let him have his time soaking it in than acting like everything is normal.

So on Wednesday, Harper was just focused on soaking it all in for possibly the last time in a white Nationals uniform. Fans helped him out with standing ovations during his first two trips to the plate and extra-enthusiastic applause every time he was due up after that. In the top of the first, Harper jogged to his place in right field and bowed to the crowd. Acknowledging their support and his appreciation of the fans after spending most of the decade in Nationals white and red.

But for anyone looking for a heroic final stand in D.C. for Bryce, hitting another bomb or two in front of a stadium full of people who were only even there to see him one more time, it wasn’t to be found. Like the team’s performance in the last year of his contract, Harper fell flat in his last hurrah.

Even the weather seemed to agree, cutting things short before it could properly finish and giving the Nationals a 9-3 win in a rain-shortened eight inning game.

This wasn’t the come-from-behind excitement of the Home Run Derby, which Harper won in front of thousands of shrieking Nationals at his home park. In fact that will probably end up being the first thing people think of when they remember Harper’s final season D.C. Not his 0-4, two strikeout, no walk performance on Wednesday.

Yet a right fielder did put on a show this afternoon in Washington, but it happened to be Harper’s potential replacement, not Harper. Victor Robles, the 21-year old talent out of the Dominican Republic, had a 4-for-5 day with 5 RBI and a 3-run homer and electrified the place.

If Wednesday was actually a passing of the torch, which is impossible to confirm right now but a reasonable outcome, then it couldn’t have gone any better. As a fanbase’s goodbye to Harper and Harper’s goodbye to the fanbase it was awful. Yet Robles’ day at the plate was probably a more needed performance in the long run.

Washington has plenty of great memories of Bryce Harper. None of them may involve winning a playoff series, but they exist. So if he walks and gets his $350 million paycheck from another city they can draw on years of watching him play as they cope with the confirmed loss of one of the city’s best stars. But now they also have a fresh memory of Robles lighting it up at home to remind them of what the future could be with a new young star in right.

If you put it in historical context, it’s even more impressive than the raw numbers.

The bitterness of Harper leaving has been anticipated for a long time now (and those most okay with him leaving as a free agent may use this game as one more sign that he’s not worth the money). Unfortunately if he goes he won’t be leaving with a ring on his finger — thankfully, Washington fans had at least one championship drought end — but at least there’s a sense that all is not lost if it goes down that way. On a day when it would have been magical for Harper to hit a home run or rally the crowd, Robles took on that responsibility and did it for him in the win.

Not the ending to Harper’s time in his Nationals home uniform he needed, but it’s probably the one that is best for the team in the long run if he is indeed about to no longer be a part of it.