© Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
Bryce Harper Watch has officially carried into spring training as games began this weekend throughout the Cactus and Grapefruit leagues. Last night it was reported that the Dodgers have entered the market for Harper, but are expected to offer a shorter-term deal like the Giants. The Philadelphia Phillies are still favored to sign Harper as there seems to only be three teams left in the bidding for the superstar right fielder.
Monday morning Bruce Bochy sat down with Murph & Mac to discuss the first weekend of spring training games, as well as his thoughts on Harper. Just like the rest of us, Bochy has been following the Harper news as negotiations drag on later into spring training.
“I follow it a little bit, to be honest. I’m trying to keep track of what’s going on with him” Bochy said. “I enjoyed my visit with him, he’s very engaged and he’s a baseball rat, that’s all he wants to do.”
Bochy was part of a Giants contingent that met with Harper three weeks ago in Las Vegas, in a meeting that reportedly lasted four hours. Its been reported that the Giants are indeed still in the hunt for Harper, as a decision is expected sooner rather than later.
“We’ll see, I’m not sure where he’s at with his thinking, but we’re still in the hunt,” Bochy said about the Giants current involvement with Harper as of this morning.
With speculation that the Giants are offering a shorter-term deal in relation to what the Phillies are offering, not many involved are expecting him to choose the Giants or any team that cant compete with the Phillies’ offer. It’s unclear just how long-term the Giants are willing to go, but if they’re still involved after this long, their offer must be decent enough for Harper to keep them around.
#sfgiants have made at least one offer. I believe it to be long term. https://t.co/NPD2tPeoWO
— Henry Schulman (@hankschulman) February 25, 2019
Listen to the full interview here. For Bochy’s thoughts on Harper, skip to 12:47