Has Bryce Harper finally picked his new home? It appears the decision is getting much closer.
The Phillies "are in deep and serious negotiations" with Harper, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reported Saturday.
The #Phillies are in deep and serious negotiations with Bryce Harper. Owner John Middleton doesn't want to leave Las Vegas without a deal.— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) February 24, 2019
Phillies owner John Middleton's jet was seen in Las Vegas, Harper's hometown, a source told NBC Sports Philadelphia on Friday. And it appears Middleton doesn't want to leave Sin City without locking in Harper.
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After the Nationals took themselves out of the race, the Giants and Phillies are the two most known teams trying to lure the 2015 NL MVP. But it seems Philadelphia is ahead of San Francisco, especially with Harper wanting to make more than Manny Machado's $300 million deal with the Padres.
In fact, he might want a lot more than the money Machado received.
Harper asking price is said by some involved teams to be in 350/360M range. The case is that while Harper and Machado may be comparable on field and similar age, Harper has real value off field due to cachet/fame. Some owners concede this tho some claim it's "hard to quantify"— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 24, 2019
Stay tuned. This saga finally might come to an end.