By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Alex Rodriguez know a lot about record-breaking contracts, like Bryce Harper's 13-year, $330 million contract signed in early March, only broken days later by Mike Trout's 12-year, $430 million extension.
The "Sunday Night Baseball" analyst, three-time MVP, 14-time All-Star, 10-time Silver Slugger Award winner, among other career accolades, had nothing but praise for what the Philadelphia Phillies have put together so far in 2019, largely thanks to Harper and the new optimism surrounding the club under second-year manager Gabe Kapler.
On Sunday, they Phillies secured the sweep of the Atlanta Braves with a 5-1 win on the nationally televised broadcast, cohosted by Rodriguez. Earlier in the day, he shared his thoughts on the Phillies to 6abc, saying they have "done some unbelievable baseball moves, from top to bottom."
"If you look at the 1-3-5 from last year, hitting now 6-7-8, it made the lineup much longer," Rodriguez said. "Now, the Phillies are part of the conversation … not only in baseball but in sports."
Rodriguez cited the atmosphere inside Citizens Bank Park. The Phillies drew 130,476 fans over the first three home games of the season, their highest total to start a season since 2012, when they drew 135,684.
"If you think about just what's happened here in the last two or three days has been electric. It's great for baseball and has been an awesome couple of days here," Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez said that while the Phillies have added his former teammate and 2009 World Series champion, David Robertson, the bullpen is the "one spot" he is "sure they're going to cover and add onto." He said that "from top to bottom in their lineup," the Phillies are "diversified."
"They bring power and contact. They have a bonafide superstar in the middle; they have Hoskins who has an opportunity to be a MVP type, with the addition of picking up the chips," Rodriguez said, adding that the referenced "bonafide superstar," Harper, will do "terrific" and is "well-equipped to be in this position."
The atmosphere and excitement for the Phillies is at a level not seen since 2011, if not better. Rodriguez called Philadelphia a "baseball town" that over the last few years "has become an Eagles town."
"I think [the Eagles] have some competition now," Rodriguez said. "It's a marathon and not a sprint. You go from having [81] generic games to [81] main events that cannot be missed."
"I think if you say that, 'can they make it to the World Series?' Look, last year, they were David with no expectations. This year, they're Goliath."
The Phillies have off on Monday, before taking the road to oppose Harper's former team down in the nation's capital, the Washington Nationals, starting Tuesday.
