Newly appointed Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi said today that the organization shares “mutual interest'” with free agent star Bryce Harper, as Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area was among those to report.
Zaidi acknowledged that he, CEO Larry Baer, and skipper Bruce Bochy recently sat down with Harper, Harper’s wife Kayla, and agent Scott Boras. There was no sense playing dumb on the subject. As Zaidi amusingly noted, Baer was “made in the casino” by an eagle-eyed fan during the visit to Las Vegas.
The mere fact of the visit itself largely made the point already, but it’s notable that the Giants are publicly discussing their ongoing interest. Zaidi called it a “good conversation over a few hours,” while Bochy labeled it “a great meeting” and heaped praise upon Harper.
While the seeming lack of widespread interest in the 26-year-old Harper (along with the similarly situated Manny Machado) has thus far been the story of the offseason, Zaidi did not drop any hints that the Giants were only swooping in to see if the price had dropped. That may have been part of the thinking, to be sure, but the top San Francisco baseball decisionmaker said that Harper has “a lot of suitors and a lot of interest” from around the game.
Pavlovic offers some other items of note as well, reporting that the initial meeting “lasted much longer than the Giants anticipated.” As Craig Mish of MLB Network Radio tweeted previously, Zaidi also met afterward with Boras on the latter’s private jet. (No word on whether Zaidi first tried to board the wrong aircraft.) While Zaidi acknowledged that Harper could make a decision in short order, the San Francisco organization has yet to formally put a contract in front of him. It stands to reason that it’ll do so in short order. It’s hard to know at this point how likely it is that Harper will choose to head to San Francisco, but it seems the organization is at minimum a viable suitor at this late stage of the process.
lowtalker1
I bet Harper shows great interesting all teams he met. It’s a way to entice the bidding war boras was hoping for.
Jean Matrac
You mean like how he did with Philadelphia?
jdrushton
The only outlet that reported that works for the NY Post, which is notorious anti-Philly
lindle368
100% agree
jdrushton
They all cited the NYP report.
Jean Matrac
You’re right. I can admit I’m wrong about the multiple news sources. They all did cite Sherman’s piece.
imgman09
From the beginning it’s been the Western desires
Ejemp2006
I selfishly want Harper for a Rockies jersey. Mash bash 61. Who wants exciting baseball stories? MLBTR fans! Sign for a 1/40 with Rox!
Payne Train
That would actually be fun to watch
DarkSide830
Harper to the KBO. he’ll hit 80 homers there
Bernie's Dander
Harper wanted to go to the Dodgers. Machado wanted to go the Yankees. Once both those teams passed, they were left scrambling and pretending they wanted to play for the Phillies, White Sox, Padres and, now, Giants.
bbcued
Makes sense for the Giants to get another hard hitting lefty for the McCovey cove splash hits.
petfoodfella
I agree, I could see him hitting massive amounts of bombs in the water. Would def be a good signing for them, especially if the NL adapts the DH rule down the road.
Samuel
Righto!
Take a guy that can’t play corner OF in Nationals Park, and have him play his home games in that park. A park that ate up a declining McCutchen both in the field and at bat.
Harper needs to follow McCutchen to that bandbox in Philly or another like park. Where he can play his home games with a small OF to defend, and hit 50 HR’s a year playing Home Run Derby. That’s his game….his only game.
I thought the new Giants baseball guy might be smart enough to build a team to take advantage of that spacious park. Find fast, crackerjack defenders for the OF; spray hitters that make contact batting, and can hit line drives in the gap and down the lines….then run them into triples and inside-the-park HR’s.
Meet the new Baseball Ops guy,
Same as the old Baseball Ops guy.
Determined to continue to lead the league in bad long-term contracts.
Chicks Dig the Longball
Can people stop acting like Harper is a horrible fielder? He was bad last year because he was playing injured. But literally every other year he was above average. He will be fine no matter where he plays so please stop with this incorrect nonsense.
87twins
Slightly above average at the VERY BEST!!
pustule bosey
slightly above average is an upgrade for the giants outfield defense. i say this as a giants fan.
Koamalu
Mitchel Lichtman said “to get a valid measure of performance, UZR needs to have a minimum of 3000 innings played”. That is about 333 games. For most players that is 3 seasons or more.
John Dewan said that DRS should be used on a rolling 3 season average to get an accurate measure of defensive performance.
Here is the list of OF with 3000 innings played in RF over the past 3 years.
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=rf&stats=fld…
Only 6 guys on the list.
If you decrease that a little in innings to 2500 innings, you get 16 guys
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=rf&stats=fld…
Those are only for RF and Harper doesn’t rank very high.
Bernie's Dander
But Harper IS a terrible outfielder. That’s part of the reason they were selling him to the Yankees as a first baseman. Everyone knows that he’s a liability in the field.
Samuel
Harper is essentially Reggie Jackson…….
A guy that plays to the media, big swing HR bat; more speed the Reggie; a lousy OF with poor fundamentals; considers himself “the straw that stirs the drink” while showing no true leadership characteristics; primarily dedicated to being a celebrity and getting as much money as he can.
The difference – in big-time games at critical points, Reggie was clutch. Harper is an analytical generation star – there is no such thing as clutch, so if Harper’s teams don’t win the big game……hey, it’s not his fault.
Samuel
@ Chicks Dig the Longball;
1. Harper was injured last year?
2. I’ve seen hundreds of his games. Sorry, he’s not an above average fielder.
Samuel
@ Chicks Dig the Longball;
1. I WROTE that Reggie was clutch.
What are YOU rambling about.
2. There are no defensive metrics to back up his poor OF play? A few months ago I saw an article showing him to be something like the 4th worst OF in either the NL or all of MLB in 2018. I don’t live by analytics, but I know that generally his previous defensive stats are not good – then again, a system that tells me that Carlos Santana is a very good 1B yet Eric Hosmer is not, is truly suspect.
3. Tell me more about his 2018 injury. You definitely are breaking a major story here.
87twins
Exactly!!
Samuel
@ Chicks Dig the Longball;
Responded to your post that you deleted.
Leaving mine up, and calling it a night.
Feel free to slander away.
Chicks Dig the Longball
I have no idea what you are talking about big guy, but I’ll tell you this. If you remove last year from the equation, in RF he had 28 DRS which means that he averaged over 4 a year which makes him a pretty good outfielder.
You can ignore metrics all you want, but that doesn’t make them false.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
EXCELLENT summary Koamalu & Samuel. Harper is the superhero hype-man. No doubt he’s good. No doubt he has an upside. But he’s been more Corey Hart than Mickey Mantle so far. That’s a huge risk for any team. Machado is much more consistent, with possibly less upside (offensively). He’s like Adrian Beltre. I know different teams have different needs, but Machado is a much safer bet than Harper.
mhaftman7
Where are you seeing 28 DRS? Harper had a bad year in RF last year. I don’t think he is the butcher lots of people make him out to be. For his career, as a RF, he is slightly below league average on balls fielded that resulted in outs 50%:48%. That being said, there is a lot of area to cover in those NL West parks and you’d guarantee yourself 117 games per year playing for an NL West team.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Trillary – If you had to ask me for a player today, I’d pick Mickey and his corked bat, amphetamines, steroids, and rotting corpse over Corey Hart and his wounded soul. I’d also pick a toilet seat over Harper.
Chicks Dig the Longball
fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=of&stats=fld…
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Why the down votes? I didn’t say what the toilet seat was made out of. It would be made out of something classy like styrofoam.
mhaftman7
That is as an OF. We are specifically saying RF. If you click RF on your link, it drops to 9. Look I’d love to have him in RF on my squad. All I’m saying is that I’m not signing him for his defense.
Gfunk
Nationals fan here. He’s fun to watch when he gets a hold of them and crushes. He slumps usually half the year struggles against lefty curve pitchers gets walked a lot and gets frustrated and starts chasing bad pitches and refuses to run after balls close to the foul line for risk of running into the wall. Not worth the money he’s asking
Bernie's Dander
Does anyone remember when Boras compared Harper to Lebron James?!?! Lol
Black&Orange&Silver
Can’t disagree with you more. Bryce Harper is not an average free agent. He is a great talent, MVP caliber player, superstar personality, and whoever gets him will make far more money off of him than they pay him.
Harper is in the beginning stages of a HOF career. He is going to have a shot at 500 HRs. And he is a national draw. This all equals money. Bryce doesn’t seem like the guy that’s going to be satisfied with his contract. He wants to build the career.
He will be a top 5 offensive threat year in and year out.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Orange– Your precognition skills are not better than anyone else’s. He could be another Josh Hamilton or Ruben Sierra or Dick Allen (which we would be good), or he could approach Orlando Cepeda or maybe even Mickey Mantle. We don’t know, so don’t act like you do.
nonadhominem
How come he hasn’t already been “a top 5 offensive threat year in and year out”?
Your post is your opinion, and that is fine, but objectively, I think you need to rewrite your post to something like this:
“He is a great talent, potential MVP caliber player, superstar personality, and whoever gets him may make more money with him than without him.”
“Harper may be in the beginning stages of a HOF career. He may have a shot at 500 HRs…..”
The reason I believe that, is that I am not sold on Harper as a great player yet. If we view his 2015 MVP season as an outlier (and if you don’t think it is please objectively prove why), then we’re looking at a guy who’s triple slash line would be .269/.373/.487 without 2015 included.
That’s a nice ballplayer, but it’s not a superstar, not a guy on HOF trajectory, and it’s not a guy worth the money he has reportedly asked for.
Additionally, he’s been inconsistent from year to year (he’s OPS’d under .850 as many times as he’s OPS’d 1.000 or over) and injury prone. He’s only played 140 or more games/season 3 times in 7 years, and has played less than 120 games in a season 3 times. He has averaged 132 games/season. Is that a guy to whom you want to sign to a 10 year deal? Does the data say he’s less likely or more likely to spend time on the DL as he ages?
Harper is in the Hall of Very Good right now, but if you add in inconsistent defense that is not likely to age well, it’s hardly a lock that he’s going to generate the kind of revenue you think he will.
I’d like to have the guy, but not at anywhere near the years and AAV he’s asking until he proves he can stay on the field for an entire season.
imgman09
Jordan stick to video games
Payne Train
You don’t go to the worst defender in the outfield because of nagging injuries … he’s not a good outfielder, plain and simple. Didn’t he still hit like 30 plus bombs ? He couldn’t be hurt that bad lol
Bernie's Dander
Samuel, I am surprised to see all the downvotes here. You have it exactly right. I’m not sure why any “slugger” would choose to play in SF(or why the Giants would pursue him anyway). If you look at how the Giants just won 3 titles, it was with pitching, defense and good contact hitters. Harper would be a disaster in that RF.
Deke
Still don’t see Harper signing with the Giants unless their offer is unmatched and better than any other team… and I hope I’m wrong.
excusemeflo
I’m sure they’ll sign him…it’ll just be for his age 36-39 seasons after his impending contract is up.
Steven Chinwood
lofl..Excellent take good sir
Balk
And they’ll probably win a World Series with him too those years! Lol
Deke
Hahaha. @excusemeflo That’s gold!!!
Philliesfan4life
Philly is gonna end up spending the money on harper or machado, then sign keuchel
bbcued
I’d be surprised. He’s not just looking for top dollar. He’s looking for an organization he likes, and he’s made it pretty clear he doesn’t hold phillie in high regard
raef715
he has?
jdrushton
yeah, according to a dubious source with the New York Post which is a rag.
Z-A 2
I’m shocked someone that writes about the Yankees and Mets primarily has an anti-philly bias.
Jean Matrac
And also according to CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Yahoo Sports, and even PhillieNation. Although to be fair, BarStoolSports says he wants to be a Phillie.
VonPurpleHayes
He has never stated that. He is also good friends with Rhys Hoskins. He will play for Philly if they pay him.
jdrushton
Both Rhys and Bryce has Boras for an agent.
He has a lot of good things to say about J.T. Realmuto too who the Phils traded for yesterday.
blackleather
I mean… bottom line, if they’ve got so much money WHY hasn’t he taken it and run out the door with it?. My hunch?…I don’t think he wants ANYTHING to do with that division, period. He wants to be on the West Coast. Stevie Wonder can see that..
Pax vobiscum
Makes zero sense unless you’re putting bodies in seats.
mays2425
I’m sure he hasn’t signed with other teams because he doesn’t want to play there. I think they could make an offer and Harper would take it. Assuming there’s an opt out after 2-3 years.
raef715
yes, it has nothing to do with Boras trying to get every penny he can.
jordan4giants 2
I don’t know how much that is true. If Harper just wanted money he would have most likely taken the $300M offer from the Nats. I believe he is holding out hope the Yankees or Dodgers jump into the fray. But if neither do, then sure he’ll just go for the highest bidder.
ChiSoxCity
This is why it’s so hard for most teams to sign top-tier talent in the free agent market. The amount of pressure put on these players to take less money or higher AAV for shorter contracts to go to NY or LA is borderline tampering, imo. SF has been profusely encouraged to get involved with Harper by the media simply because the teams who are making serious efforts to sign him “don’t matter.”. The powers that be simply don’t want Harper or Machado in Chicago or Philadelphia, and they’re willing to spend money to make sure it doesn’t happen.
ucat2006
I agree. The sentiment that it is a surprise that more teams aren’t in the game for Harper/Machado is silly because guys like that wouldn’t even consider signing with 20+ clubs. Why would the Royals, Reds, etc. even bother throwing their hats in the ring? They wouldn’t, and for good reason.
SheltonMatthews
Fair enough, but take bias out of it, and think about it logically. I’m not knocking anyone’s franchises, but it makes sense for the league to want its best players in marquee markets, on marquee teams. Philly and Chicago are huge markets, I understand that, but the Phillies and White Sox haven’t exactly been model franchises over the decades. Is San Francisco a team set up to win this season? Not really no, but it is a team that has won a lot recently, and has a park that sells in a major market. It makes sense as a league to want the Giants good again, at the same time as the Dodgers so that you have the two best rivalries rocking on both sides of the country.
ChiSoxCity
Shelton, I fail to see the logic in your argument.
I’ll start with the “model” franchise sentiment. When I think about the term model franchise, I think of teams like the Reds or Cardinals; organizations who consistently won with superior scouting and coaching. I don’t consider either NY team a model franchise, regardless of what the national media hype machine tells us. Both teams have been associated with drugs and cheating over the years. Both teams have relied on checkbook baseball, PEDs, or elaborate sign stealing to gain competitive advantage in years they’ve been dominant. It’s been proven, so arguing this point is moot.
Lastly, the notion that teams who’ve won recently AND who are “model teams” only supports my original point. Certainly the media has favorites, we all do. However, I find the lack of objectivity in the way professional sports is presented to the general public today very self-serving and insulting. It’s all agenda driven, and usually distorted by bias and selfishness on the part of each media member. So much in fact that it damages their credibility and the public trust. “Journalistic integrity” goes out the door when some national beat writer or talking head on tv suggests a certain player would look great in a Giants uni every time said player’s name is mentioned. It just getting old, and it’s influencing the players whether they want to admit it or not. Ultimately, this perfect storm of pandering and tampering leaves most teams who are working hard to be that next “model” franchise struggling to climb the ladder, while the media darlings feast.
JayRyder
Man I Hope The Giants Get Harper. . . I Just Like To Win. ! ! !
mooshimanx
I can’t imagine why you would want to play in a bad hitters park on a team that owes a ton of money to old bad players and has no farm to speak of
scottn59c
$$$.
jekporkins
I can’t imagi…. wha?
1. This is one of the premier franchises in MLB.
2. He could play in arguably the best stadium in baseball
3. Play in front of a huge, dedicated fan base
4. Play for a team with a history of winning recently (three World Series this decade) and all time (2nd place behind the Yanks)
5. Has ownership that invests money in their team every single year
6. To be the premier face of most popular cities in the world,
7. A one-hour flight to his home in Las Vegas.
Yeah, he’s crazy to want to come here.
22Leo
Dedicated fan base? I lived in Northern California for 15 years. The “fans” there are as fair weather as they come. I remember an interview with Tim Hudson in which he asked Barry Zito how the fans were there and Zito told him they never really supported the team until they won a World Series, but after that they were great. I also never met one Warriors fan but now all these so-called fans claim to have been Warriors fans for decades.
jekporkins
Well, I’ve lived in Northern California for 40+ years and I can tell you the opposite. The Giants have averaged over 3 million fans a year since they moved to their ballpark. That’s almost 20 years in a row. They have been competitive in that park for perhaps half of those years.
Of course, you’re going to get more fair-weather fans no matter what team you root for unless it’s the A’s. The only time they sell out their stadium is when Giants fans come across the bay to watch their team.
El Kabong
Are there team names on the 2019 baseball cards for Harper and Machado? Or do they just say “free agent”?
bbcued
Nationals and Dodgers respectively
jdrushton
The Dodgers don’t want Machado. If they did, they would have tried to extend him during the 2018 season.
snotrocket
It’s also about where a player wants to live. I hate the city of San Francisco with a passion. Only go there for games and concerts. But there are plenty of awesome places to live within a half hour drive. If you can ignore the taxes, the fact that the state is run by idiots and inhabited mostly by the same, then California is a cool place to live for the nature and the weather.
jordan4giants 2
San Francisco has Pancho Villa in the mission and Tony’s Pizza in North Beach, I mean what else do you need?!
Deke
I like the taco truck at Best Buy better than Pancho Villa. But it’s still good. However walk around the corner to El Toro. Same menu and less busy than Pancho Villa.
pustule bosey
i always liked el farolito on 24th (or the one on church) better
Strike Four
No one cares, shut up
talking baseball
Hey Strike Four, Stick it someplace, like back in your mouth. You are why rude people suck !!
ABStract
Im not a big fan of the city either, but the taxes and “idiots” are two of the biggest reasons that there is nature left to be enjoyed in California.
And, if you don’t like it, as so many red hat wearing “philosophers” say about the USA, then leave!
No one’s forcing you to live in a state/area you don’t like…you sound just like an SF hipster, complaining about having it so good
snotrocket
If Gavin Newsome gets his way and starts taxing drinking water like he wants to, I might. It would be a shame, but common sense went out the window a long time ago around here and it’s only getting worse.
MyOtherGFisYourMom
is deucing on the sidewalks still mandatory in SF? Gotta love the ambiance of crap covered public walkways.
gmenfan
Don’t let the doorknob hit ya, I suppose.
goob
@snotty
“I hate the city of San Francisco with a passion.”
Of course you do – as one might expect from any passionately hateful troll – who wants to broadcast his hatred of some place or its people.
And if the state itself is “mostly inhabited by idiots”, then you ought to feel right at home – instead spewing about it like a toddler.
So nice work hater, good for you.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Snottypottyrocket — I’m trying to take you seriously. What state isn’t run by idiots? Yeah, that’s what I thought.
caseym
I really want to see Harper on the Giants and Yankees give in and sign Machado. That teams just needs some help on the Left side and they know it.
jdrushton
The Phillies will offer the most money, you can bet on it. As far as Harper “not liking Philly”, that was reported by someone from the New York Post – which isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
bbcued
Giants dumping salary in deal with Yankees today to clear space for Harper? You heard it hear first.
nuschler22
Well there are certainly openings in the Giants’ outfield.
bhambrave
So Boras is Harper’s wife and agent? Interesting.
Strike Four
Harper to SF, Manny to Phily
jdrushton
I could live with that. I don’t see the Phil’s being outbid on both of them.
Redwolves3
Did Bonds have any trouble hitting at the Giants park(now Oracle Park)? Seems like Bonds also didn’t have any problems hitting balls into McCovey Cove.
antibelt
He was the greatest player in mlb history. Hard to compare people to him. Lol
jdrushton
Except Harper is not using steroids.
gmenfan
Neither does Harper, just ask Hunter Strickland.
DougieJones
This feels like the Giants’ pursuit of Stanton and Ohtani all over again. They hyped up their fans with a way too public pursuit only to let fans down and trade for Evan Longoria and McCutchen. And that didn’t work out so great. It would be cool to sign Harper but trick me three time shame on me.
highandtight
They legitimately tried to get Stanton. Stanton wanted to play in NY or LA, not SF. That was his right with his no trade clause. Once Stanton fell through, they went and got Longoria and Cutch. They had to do something, and Longo and Cutch were better than trotting out Arroyo and Pence.
It is not like the Giants had Bryce over to the ballpark and plastered his image on the scoreboard in a Giants cap like most other teams did with select press covering the dog and pony show. They simply sent a small group to meet him and talk over dinner. I think they are looking into Bryce because they feel like if he hasn’t signed, then he hasn’t found an offer he likes from a team he likes. The Giants have to look at it as the outfield market is slim the next couple of years (except Trout, but come on…talk about bidding war) and this might be their best shot to get a top outfielder. Lord knows they can’t develop them…
If Bryce can fall into your lap and wants to come to your team, and you can afford him (in a time of rebuilding, no less), then you should seriously consider.
OnMy11Six
They legitimately almost HAD Stanton, the marlins even agreed to the deal. Stanton blocked it because he didn’t want to go to SF. That one was NOT the Giants fault.
goob
And also, Dougie, Ohtani’s choice was completely his own – and no team’s desire to sign him was pretend, including SF. And rumor was that the Giants might have been his 2nd choice – and could have even been his 1st choice – if they’d had the DH. The Giants weren’t trying to hype anything.
Jean Matrac
DougieJones: Apparently you didn’t read the article. The only reason the meeting came to light was because a fan sighted Larry Baer. There was no formal announcement that the meeting would take place. That’s hardly “a way too public pursuit”.
DougieJones
The way to public pursuit I was referring to was of Stanton and Ohtani. All I was trying to say was that I am not going to get my hopes up the Giants are actually going to sign the big name they are linked to. They’ll probably end up making a significantly worse move like trading Bumgarner for Ellsbury.
Cardinalsfan4ever
The Cardinals are the mystery team. He likes St. Louis.
MLBTR Commenter
So boring though
antibelt
Chris Davis 2.0
dahnthemahn90
Let’s try to dispel some of the rumors surrounding the state of the Giant’s core and financial commitments. The core isn’t young, but they’re certainly not so old that they can’t still be productive. The entire starting lineup spent time on the DL. Apart from Posey, who is now healthy, the rest of those injuries could probably be characterized as fluke-like ie. Hit by pitch. If they’re healthy, they’ll produce.
With respect to the finances, the payroll opens wide up in 2021. And frankly, the giants do not have payroll constraints. They’ve indicated a willingness to exceed the luxury tax (Stanton last year).
If Farhan is as good at retooling, within a couple years, by the time the not-so-young core really has aged, he will have restocked the farm and have Harper in his prime. In the mean time, he elongated the lineup and provides protection. They may not surpass the Dodgers but given an improved lineup, a very good bullpen and decent starting pitching, they will contend for a playoff spot.
kobo77
Someone with some sense! And if he goes and does get Harper he will not be done. The Giants have stated multiple times that they will be getting at least 2 outfielders off the free agent market. Then you never know if trades may happen and then even more signings. Will be an interesting few weeks here.
pustule bosey
yeah, i mean if the three combination of any 3 players injured return to form the entire team is different. i mean a full strength posey, crawford, belt,sandoval, mac, samardzija, etc would all change the direction of the team dramatically.
Nuke LaLoosh
Yeah but you better count on 1 of 6 being able to do that.
22Leo
Giants fans are comically delusional, and they will be calling for Zaidi’s head very soon.
dahnthemahn90
No delusion nor future head hunting. I’m not saying they’re a shoe-in for a fourth title in the decade. I’m merely saying they’ll put out a team that can compete because given their current pieces, the impact of an addition like Harper will be significant. And in terms of head hunting, you’re wrong. Getting younger and building and signing Harper are not mutually exclusive-both can be done simultaneously.
Kingman#26
Life is too short, go sign him SF Giants, he’s only 26.
Yankeepatriot
The giants are in terrible shape right now. Harper wouldn’t be doing himself favors going there
Balk
Giants won’t be in bad shape in a couple years sooooo, not sure your point. If you sign someone for long term do you expect 7 years straight being great? There are years of adjusting. You should now that being a Yankees fan. When was the last time your team was in the World Series?
Yankeepatriot
They have nothing in their farm and their major league roster is full of bad aging veterans and bad contracts. You act like building a good farm is easy. Then you actually have to develop the prospects and hope they produce. This doesn’t just take a few short years
And I don’t focus on the past. The main thing is my team is set up great for the long term and I’m looking forward to the present and future. Worry about your team ^_^
nonadhominem
Patriot, the Yankees were really smart a few years ago and blew the international singing money limit they had out of the water. IIRC they also paid millions in penalties. Well, guess, what? It paid off. Kudos for Cashman and Steinbrenner for having the gumption to do it.
I wanted the Phils to do the same thing at the time, and so did many other fans, but the team was far too timid (under Montgomery) – apparently not wanting to aggravate the powers that be in MLB offices.
A couple of other teams did it too, but not the snowflakes in the Philly FO at the time.
Oh well………………………
Balk
Dude, you’re an idiot, You have no clue what Zaidi has been up to this offseason huh? He’s already started getting younger with the farm, haven’t you been paying attention? Your on the Giants site. As far as bad aging players, is Posey a bad aging player, how bout Crawford, how bout Belt, and our whole outfield is youth. Maybe comment when you have actual good input. Good luck with that ring this year with that garbage starting rotation! Lol
Vogt83
I just don’t see how anyone is going to outbid Philly. The players union would flip of he took a lower deal. Philly has the ability right now to truly outbid everyone. Most of this stuff is boras trying to get SOMEONE else to bid to get a higher offer… It’s JD Martinez all over again… It was Boston all along. This time it’s Philly
VonPurpleHayes
The Phillies were already outbid by Washington for Corbin. Plenty of teams have stupid money to spend. The highest bidder will get Harper/Machado.
Vogt83
DCs offer was absurd. Even NYY agreed.
jdrushton
Actually, he signed for the length of the deal (6 years). No one else would go more than 5. Only time will tell if the Nats made the right decision.
highandtight
Except players don’t always take the advice of their agents or the highest deal. The players union can push Bryce towards Philly all they want, but if Bryce doesn’t really want to go there, they can’t force him to. Nor can they force him to take the best offer.
Likewise, what if his favorite team has the lowest offer? Can MLB go to the team and say, ‘you need to increase your offer?’ I suppose they can, but if they team doesn’t want to/can’t spend on that player, that is their prerogative.
The reason JD ended up in Boston is because they had the money, and needed a DH. SF has the money and needs OFers more than oxygen at this point. They could outbid or offer competitive contracts.
Vogt83
His agent is Scott Boras. If he only wanted to be comfortable he would have hired a different agent and Boras wouldn’t have wasted his time on Harper. He will follow the $$$. I’m very sorry.
highandtight
You don’t always hire someone so that you can get the most money, you hire the someone so you can get the most money from who you want to get the most money from.
sethesq
Agreed
A-Rod was a Boras client and he went to Steinbrenner & Cashman himself to get that (imo ridiculous) new contract.
Boras still got paid his fee but sometimes players will do what they want against the advice of their agent
Jean Matrac
It wouldn’t be the first time a player turned down more money for a destination more desirable to the player. As long as the contract is fair, the union has no say whatsoever where a FA signs. They’ll step in, like they did with the ARod trade to Boston, and prevent a player from giving back money. But there is zero precedent for the union insisting that a player sign with a team that’s not his choice.
SixGuns
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again: Harper is a Mormon and was married in a Mormon tabernacle. I think he does go to the place where he can be comfortable in his own skin. I see SF as one of those places.
Vogt83
Andy Reid is a Mormon and spent over a decade in Philadelphia. I don’t think this is a problem.
MyOtherGFisYourMom
Considering Reid lost a son to drugs in Philly, don’t imagine he’s the biggest fan of the city of brotherly shove.
DadsInDaniaBeach
the city had nothing to do with it..that is getting really old..the scourge of drugs is in every city…opioids are worse now then in any time in our long history…
Free Clay Zavada
Can this be the last time you’ll say it, please?
James1955
Harper wants a record setting contract. Sometimes players go for the money. The Giants are close to his home. and Spring Training in Arizona is close to his home. The Giants are #5 in revenue and have money to spend on players and they said they can go over the CBT. Who knows.
22Leo
Any team that signs Harper or Machado will regret it very soon. I would love to see the Giants be one of those teams.
zimerust
Someone mad the Giants have won numerous championships lately, probably angry Dodgers fan hoping for just one this decade.
Koamalu
Harper and Machado will sign on the 15-17th of this month because the reporting date for all teams other than the A’s and Mariners is the 18th and 19th.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Harper will sign on the 27th because he is a child of God and 666 divided by 24 is 27.75.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
I was just about to comment on how darn funny this post was and realized I was the one who wrote it. Figures. So I commented anyways.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
I like your line of thinking. I think you may be on to something. Someone less wise than you in another post mentioned how Harper likes shopping bags. No one else understood what that comment really meant. It meant azz – fix – eeee — ayy –shun.
sethesq
This has always been about two decisions:
1: being the highest paid player in the game
2: being one of the highest paid players in the game
The difference, in my opinion, being #2 most likely includes the best chance of playing on a WS ready/caliber franchise right now as opposed to #1 and being an economic burden on a franchise’s ability to build one before the contract is halfway done
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Bryce (or as I call him Brian) Harper, reminds me of Ryan Leaf. You know why? Because I said so. Wanna fight about it? That’s what I thought.
22Leo
I just punched you right in your brightness. I was very subtle about it. The world is too bright. I blame the sun.
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Mine’sbigger — Yours may be bigger, but I think you may be my Twin Soul. Kudos to you good man. I know when you look in a mirror you see nothing but greatness.
22Leo
The level of greatness I see in the mirror often depends on how many drinks I’ve had that day. It can get pretty great in a hurry.
number1dodger
Ten bucks. He plays in Japan
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
Twenty bucks he couldn’t pick it out on a map.
jordanrulestheworld
Giants never learn
Balk
Learned how to win three rings though huh? How’s your team fairing?
Comrade Tipsy McStagger
What does three titles from the past have to do with Harper? Oh, nothing. That’s what I thought. Since we are talking about things that have nothing to do with anything, and seem to mostly be boosting egos, how many pushups can you do? I can do a lot more than that.
22Leo
The guy thinks “fairing” is a correct term in this situation. I would not place much consideration into his opinions.
Ry.the.Stunner
The Giants insist on adding an albatross contract to their roster. First they were talking Heyward, then Ellsbury, now they want Harper.
DadsInDaniaBeach
all last year, I was hyping Realmuto to Phillies phans…in the beginning, I got, who? Then they started to pay attention..In my wildest dreams, I never thought the Phillies would be in on him…never saw this coming..
baseball holds a fascination with me that no other sport does..baseball continues to surprise us all..
as to Harper and Machado,,, I won’t say which team they would/should go to because non of us know..I for one will not be shocked if they both go to teams not even mentioned in any of the rumors..
as to which team has the money to spend on these guys, THEY ALL DO! Many just choose not to spend it…..
As a Phan, if I had a choice, and I had to pick one, I couldn’t. The Phillies have a need for both. I think they need the left handed bat more than the clear upgrade at 3rd base. I feel Maikel Franco breaks out this year. Either makes them better.
Giantsbaby93
When I said Giants as darkhouse someone said it was wishful thinking because I was a Giants fan. We will see…. Still don’t think harper worth it but the fanbase probably deserves it. I’m sure ownership got boat loads of money from the previous 3 ships.
22Leo
What is a “darkhouse?”
Giantsbaby93
Darkhorse* was a typo
James1955
Some Phillies fans think that it is automatic that every Star player goes to their team. That is not always the case.
lt michaels
I dont like Bryce Harper in SF (Oracle Park) at all especially seeing how the SF Giants are in decline with some major baggage keeping them down for a couple more years.
22Leo
Much more than a couple more years.
semut
Of course they’re interested in Harper in sf where they have zero outfielders. But the question is, is harper interested in playing in one of the least offense-producing parks in all of baseball? Harper seems like a guy who cares way too much for his stats to end up there
mays2425
New reports of Machado and the Yankees on a 220mm contract. This would give the giants a great position to get Harper last minute
22Leo
Actually,like all the other reports…it means nothing.
washington_bonercats
Is there any shot this dude doesn’t end up a Philly? This could have been done 2 months ago