Over the weekend, Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported that the Giants are planning on offering Bryce Harper a “lucrative short-term deal,” after the two sides left a four-hour meeting with mutual interest last week. According to Jon Heyman, however, that’s not going to get it done.
Despite rumored offers/wishes of teams, word is Bryce Harper is not signing — or even considering — short-term deals.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 12, 2019
Heyman reports that Harper is not singing, or even considering short-term deals this offseason. That could throw a wrench in San Francisco’s bid to acquire Harper, as new VP of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi has shown little enthusiasm at the prospect of breaking the bank for one player this offseason, with so many holes on both the Giants’ big-league roster, and farm system.
Harper reportedly turned down a $300 million, 10-year offer from the Nationals earlier this offseason.
Here’s what Nightengale said on KNBR Tuesday when asked about what the Giants will offer:
“The Giants don’t want to give a 10-year contract,” Nightengale began. “Nobody does, but the Giants certainly don’t want to. You’re not going to saddle a brand new executive in Farhan Zaidi and say ‘here you’ve got a $300 million contract on the books, you can’t do much with it otherwise.’
“What their game plan is is they’ll probably offer a 5-6 year deal at good money. Probably $30 million a year or so, or probably more even, to try to get him. And say, ‘You know what, do you want a short-term contract to come to San Francisco, or do you want a long-term contract and go to Philadelphia.’”