One team reportedly might be making their final push to sign Bryce Harper, and it's not the Giants.
Philadelphia Phillies owner John Middleton's private jet was in Las Vegas -- hometown of the free-agent outfielder -- on Friday, a "person in that city" told NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury.
A source in Las Vegas tells me that Phillies owner John Middleton's plane is on the ground in that city. Vegas is Bryce Harper's home town. No other details, but talks clearly ongoing.— Jim Salisbury (@JSalisburyNBCS) February 23, 2019
Hours earlier, the Washington Nationals ruled themselves out of signing Harper. The Nationals drafted Harper No. 1 overall in 2010, and he has played all 927 games of his major league career in a Nats uniform to this point.
Middelton's reporting would seem to further establish the Phillies as the favorites to sign the six-time All-Star. The Giants would seem to be the last team standing aside from the Phillies, and NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic reported Friday that San Francisco doesn't "intend to do dollar-to-dollar" with Philadelphia.
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But, that doesn't mean this all comes as a surprise to the Giants. They already saw the Phillies as the favorites to land Harper.
If Middleton's presence in Las Vegas is any indication, the Giants might not have to wait for Harper's official decision all that much longer.
