Could Bryce Harper end up in San Francisco?

[Auggie]

2-10-19 / USA Today

The Philadelphia Phillies, who have been the favorites to land free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper all winter, suddenly have serious competition in the San Francisco Giants.

One high-ranking rival executive boldly predicts the Giants will ultimately sign the 26-year star.

The Giants indeed plan to offer Harper a lucrative short-term deal, but have no desire to provide a long-term contract approaching the 10-year, $300 million contract Harper rejected from the Washington Nationals in September.

“We want to be able to pursue players to bring championships back to the Giants’ fans,’’ Giants president Larry Baer told reporters at the Giants’ FanFest. “Bryce Harper is an amazing player. It’s very hard, these are competitions, and I can’t handicap it.’’

MORE: https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2019/02/10/bryce-harper-free-agency-san-francisco-giants-serious-late-entry/2829955002/?src=rss

Enticing? Hell yes! But not at $30 million a year.

[Ohiogal]

1. Yikes.....

[RockRaven]

2. Have any 10-year baseball contracts ever worked out well in the end, for the team?

It seems like they always end up being a millstone around the team's neck as the player ages and/or suffers injuries.

[True Dough]

3. Paging Brother Buzz

I know you'd prefer to have Tim Tebow in the pipeline, but Bryce Harper would be a decent consolation prize, right?

[Brother Buzz]

4. Harper hit a career low of .249 last year, Tebow hit .273!!!! I'm gonna have to think about it!

Underpants (Hunter Pence) signed with the Texas Rangers....so right field is up for grabs and Pac Bell Park was tailor made for left handed hitters. I'll go with the flawed Harper in a New York minute because, despite his hitting slump, he still hit 34 home runs, knocked in 100 runs last year; his best years are still to come.

[Capt. America]

5. The days of the 10 year contract are over.

[Auggie]

6. Latest rumor is he's close to signing with Philly ...

for 10 years. Just a rumor though.

[Brother Buzz]

7. The latest rumor is based on an OPINION expressed by a FORMER Nationals general manager...

and sports talking head, Jim Bowden.


Las Vegas was favoring the Phillies back in November....before the Giants even expressed an interest. Today, they favor the Giants, with the Padres still in play.

[Auggie]

8. I'd call it an educated opinion. Giants want a shorter deal. Harper reportedly doesn't.

[Brother Buzz]

9. Indeed, the Phillies are back on top

And it looks like if they sign Harper, Machado's deal with the Phillies would disappear


Phillies In Lead For Bryce Harper
By Connor Byrne | February 17, 2019 at 1:15pm CDT

As was the case a month ago, the Phillies are the favorites to sign free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper, Jon Heyman of MLB Network tweets. But Harper’s market has “intensified,” according to Heyman, who unsurprisingly notes he’ll eventually sign a long-term contract.

Philadelphia met with Harper back on Jan. 10, though he and fellow free-agent superstar/Phillies target Manny Machado have shockingly remained on the market since then. Both the Giants and Padres have since joined the race for Harper, who, as of two weeks ago, had drawn interest from “at least” eight teams, Heyman reported. Only five suitors have been identified, though, with Harper’s career-long club – the Nationals – accompanying the Phillies, Giants, Padres and White Sox. The Yankees and Mets are two teams that can be ruled out, Andy Martino of SNY tweets.

Harper entered the offseason seeking a contract worth upward of $300MM – a figure that he could still match or exceed, despite his unexpectedly long stay on the market. And the Phillies are arguably in better position than anyone else to bid an extravagant amount for Harper, as they came into the winter expecting to spend “stupid” money, according to owner John Middleton. The big-market team has been aggressive in improving its roster to this point, having added J.T. Realmuto, Jean Segura, Andrew McCutchen and David Robertson, but it’s not spending an eyebrow-raising sum on any of those players. Plus, despite those upgrades, the Phillies still aren’t in great shape in the outfield, with Odubel Herrera, Nick Williams, Roman Quinn and Aaron Altherr serving as their best options besides McCutchen. The 26-year-old Harper blows that group out of the water, needless to say, and his presence would significantly boost the Phillies’ chances of breaking their seven-season playoff drought in 2019.

Should Harper head to Philly, it would remove a prime suitor for Machado, as the club’s only willing to sign one of the two. Without the Phillies in the mix, Machado would seemingly be left to choose between the Padres and White Sox, who have courted him, though it’s possible a previous suitor such as the Yankees or a mystery team could involve themselves in the race to sign him.

[Capt. America]

10. Guess I was wrong (Machado)