(Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
More details are trickling out regarding the Giants’ four-hour Las Vegas meeting with Bryce Harper that took place earlier this week.
According to Alex Pavlovic of NBC Sports Bay Area, Harper talked about how much he likes Giants catcher Buster Posey during the meeting. The feeling appears to be mutual, as Posey publicly lobbied for the team to sign Harper when he spoke to reporters on Friday.
“Sign him up,” Posey said.
Additionally, the Giants were left “very impressed” by Harper after the meeting, according to Jon Heyman.
Seems to be a lot of positivity surrounding the Harper-Giants meeting. Doesn’t mean they will prevail in this derby, but the Giants, who assured the Harper camp of their seriousness pre meeting, were said to have been very impressed by the Harpers.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 10, 2019
There is an increased sense among some in the clubhouse that Harper would prefer to sign with the Giants according to Pavlovic. An offer was reportedly not made during the meeting, and it’s unclear if Harper would be willing to sign a short-term deal, as opposed to the 10-year contract he’s reportedly been pursuing.
At just 26 years old, Harper is considered to be one of the game’s two best outfielders along with the Angels’ Mike Trout. Harper is a six-time All-Star and won the NL MVP in 2015. Last year was considered a down year by his standards, but Harper still finished with a slash line of 249/.393/.496 with 34 home runs, 34 doubles and 100 RBI in 2018.
Giants new VP of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi has said that the club wants to sign at least two veteran outfielders before the start of the season. As it currently stands, the Giants will enter spring training with Chris Shaw, Steven Duggar, and Austin Slater as their projected starters.
