It seems as though the Bryce Harper pursuit is nearing its end. The latest reports indicate the Giants making a serious, last-minute attempt to sign Harper, as the team reportedly sent representatives to meet with Harper on Tuesday in Las Vegas. That’s San Francisco’s second meeting with the star free agent in the last month.
However, the meeting isn’t what’s making the Giants a serious suitor for Harper. According to Alex Pavlovic, the Giants have discussed 10-year deals with Harper that would pay him more than Manny Machado’s $300 million contract with the Padres.
The Giants are not positioning themselves as a short-term solution for Bryce Harper. Per sources, the two sides have discussed a 10-year deal. Story: https://t.co/P3fbVWeBLc
— Alex Pavlovic (@PavlovicNBCS) February 27, 2019
The Dodgers and Phillies also remain in the picture, as both teams met with Harper as well over the weekend.
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Phillies, #SFGiants and Dodgers all appear to remain strongly in Harper mix, and barring something unforeseen, it appears Harper will pick one of those 3 teams. Philly is in for 10 years, SF is too (via @PavlovicNBCS), LA is viewed as desirable locale tho term offered unknown.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 27, 2019
Yet, according to former Mets GM Steve Phillips, the Phillies aren’t confident that they’ll sign Harper.
A source indicates that the #Phillies believe their chances of landing Bryce Harper are remote. The obvious question is whether they would pivot to Keuchel and/or Kimbrel. My sense from our interview with Matt Klentak is that they won’t play on Keuchel and only maybe on Kimbrel.
— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) February 27, 2019
One of the obstacles in the #Phillies negotiation for Harper is the opt out. The Phils prefer an opt out after 5 years and Scott Boras wants an opt out after 3 years. I can’t imagine that it’s a deal-breaker for either side but it has been an obstacle to slow the process.
— Steve Phillips (@StevePhillipsGM) February 27, 2019
All this after another report indicated that Harper’s preferred destination this offseason was either with the Cubs or Dodgers.
For what it’s worth, my source who is close to Bryce Harper tells me #Dodgers and #Cubs were 1st choices all along and he prefers not to sign with #Phillies. I’ve been hearing all winter that Harper does not want to play for Gabe Kapler due to analytics and quirky personality
— Randy Miller (@RandyJMiller) February 26, 2019
Harper’s desire to want to play with the Cubs has been known since the middle of the 2017 season.
Bryce Harper wanting to play for the Cubs isn't anything new. Peter Gammons said it back in June 2017.pic.twitter.com/ZoN53s4lax
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) February 27, 2019
Too bad Tom Ricketts is broke. (doesn’t want to spend more money on the Cubs)
Bryce Harper Is Still Waiting For Tom Ricketts To Find More Money To Sign With Cubs
All right, on to Wednesday’s game.
Cole Hamels made his spring training debut against the Rangers and pitched two scoreless innings. He gave up some hard contact, but got a few outs with the help of Willson Contreras, who threw a runner out at second base and then picked off a runner at first.
Contreras also continued to show off his power swing, blasting his second homer down in Arizona. Just listen to that sound and notice where the ball landed.
Have a day! Willson Contreras has thrown out a baserunner, picked off another and this….. #Cubs #CactusLeague @Cubs pic.twitter.com/Um9Yc05Hvf
— Scott Johnston (@ProTVSports) February 27, 2019
Hamels, 35, will be a free agent after 2019, but he has no plans of slowing down.
Hamels said he has no intention of retiring after 2019. "Hell no! I really love about what (Justin) Verlander said." Hamels said he hired a trainer full-time in the offseason, worked with a posture specialist 5-6 times a week.
— Mark Gonzales (@MDGonzales) February 27, 2019
Asked if he might retire after the 2019 season, Cole Hamels emphatically said "Hell no!" Said his goal is to pitch until he's 45. "I played with Jamie Moyer."
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 27, 2019
Oh man, remember Jamie Moyer? He made his MLB debut with the Cubs in 1986, when he was 23-years-old and he still made 10 starts for the Rockies in 2012. Moyer was 49-years-old in his last MLB season!
Just another reminder to teach your kid to throw left-handed.
David Bote was back in the Cubs lineup for the first time since getting beaned in the head on Sunday by Madison Bumgarner. Bote looked great, getting hits in his first two at-bats Wednesday. That included a rocket in second time up.
Bote is 2-for-2 in his return from getting hit in the head with a Bumgarner fastball on Sunday. First single was a blooper, but the second one was scorched at 110 mph, much more Bote-like.
— Sahadev Sharma (@sahadevsharma) February 27, 2019
While Bote is back, Jason Heyward was out of the Cubs lineup on Wednesday. That came after he was a late scratch to the starting nine on Tuesday. Joe Maddon said Heyward is dealing with a personal issue.
Via the Chicago Sun-Times.
Right fielder Jason Heyward, who was a late scratch from Tuesday’s lineup because of a personal issue, was out of the lineup again Wednesday, and manager Joe Maddon said the timeline for a return is uncertain.
“He’s going to make the call on that,” Maddon said. “But he is well. It’s just something personal that’s impacting him. …But he’s healthy. He’s fine.”
Heyward did practice on Wednesday.
Ben Zobrist, who showed up four days late to camp and was excused because of personal reasons, has yet to play in spring training.
This could mean nothing and hopefully it’s nothing serious for Heyward, but it’s hard not to speculate when a certain free agent still unsigned.
Heyward gets scratched from yesterday's lineup, still out today. Zobrist still hasn't played after showing up four days late to camp. Harper wants to play for the Cubs.
Damnit, I know all of this means nothing, but WHAT IF
— Aldo Soto (@AldoSoto21) February 27, 2019
I'll also leave this here:
Zobrist 2019 salary: $12.5M
Heyward 2019 salary: $20M
Total 2019 salary: $32.5MMinimum contract Harper seems to be looking for? 10 years/$325M
— SignBryceHarperCountTommy (@FullCountTommy) February 27, 2019
Damnit, I swore I was done believing there was a chance.
By the way, Sinclair’s CEO said the company is going to make $40 million-$50 million a year on the network deal with the Cubs. That means the Cubs will be making A LOT more than that per year as well.
PSA: This is what *Sinclair* is making to run the back-end of the network. I’d guess the Cubs are making significantly more and should sign Bryce Harper https://t.co/f8NCIwN2Xp
— Jeff Everson (@EVR551) February 28, 2019
C’mon, Ricketts. Get Bryce.
