© Jonathan Dyer | 2020 Mar 10
In Farhan Zaidi’s first offseason in charge, he did just about everything he could to land Bryce Harper. Most notably, the Giants offered the six-time All-Star a 12-year deal worth a reported $310 million. It wasn’t enough. The Philadelphia Phillies eventually landed the outfielder with a record setting 10-year, $330 million offer.
Apparently it wasn’t just money that kept Harper away from San Francisco. The 27-year old gave a fairly blunt assessment as to why he didn’t want to sign with San Francisco during a podcast appearance on Thursday.
“My fear with San Fran was all their guys are kind of done,” he said on the Barstool Sports’ Starting 9 podcast. “[Buster] Posey was going to be gone possibly, or he was going to move to first base. [Brandon] Belt only had like two years left (on his contract) so he was going to be gone possibly. [Brandon] Crawford, where was he going to be? He’s a great shortstop.”
The assessment is interesting. Posey is under contract through 2023 and is probably the least likely of all the Giants current players to ever play anywhere else. Both Belt and Crawford are set to become free agents in 2022, and both will be in their mid-30s by the time they hit free agency. Were Harper to have signed the 12-year deal with the Giants, he’s correct that his time with the current core would’ve likely been short lived.