February 05, 2019
The Phillies front office sure seems like a confident bunch. And that's good, because the fanbase is literally hanging on every word (read: tweet) out of Bryce Harper — sometimes even the video game he's going to be on the cover of this year — and jumping to wild conclusions about what they mean.
The actual decision-makers, the people inside the Phillies who actually have the opportunity to make a deal happen with Harper or fellow super free agent Manny Machado, don't seem to be getting too worked up, at least not publicly. Not even after months have passed with no deals and they've seen mystery team after mystery team sidle up next to one or both of those players with the hopes of directing them away from John Middleton's stupid money.
And while pitchers and catchers report to Clearwater in a little over a week, there's still doesn't seem to be any concern on the part of the Phillies. According to Jon Heyman, they're confident they'll land one of the two big name free agents before this winter is over.
Even with weeks going by and more teams checking in on the two mega star free agents — Bryce Harper and Manny Machado — the Phillies still believe they will land one of the 2 superstars. They do have financial clout. #stupidmoney
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 3, 2019
Of course, we've been hearing this for months now and there's still no indication of when either player might sign.
Then there's the matter of those pesky "mystery teams."
According to multiple sources there are indeed “mystery” team(s) in on Bryce Harper that the public is not aware of…and as many texts/emails & phone calls I’ve made…I still can’t find them…..#Braves ? #Cardinals ? #Astros ? #Giants ? #Angels ? #Yankees ? #BlueJays ? I give up
— Jim Bowden (@JimBowdenGM) February 4, 2019
According to Heyman, there are at least eight teams checking in on Harper.
Hear at least 8 teams are still checking in on Harper, though at least a couple/few of them are likely thinking short-term
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 4, 2019
The longer this sweepstakes drags on, the more competition the Phillies appear to have, which could lead to more money being spent. But, like we said at the top of this post, the Phils brass doesn't seem worried — and, yeah, they still have all that money to get stupid with.
While we (continue to) wait, here's a look at the latest free agency news and trade rumors surrounding the Phillies and the rest of Major League Baseball...
Follow Matt on Twitter: @matt_mullin
Like us on Facebook: PhillyVoice Sports
