The Philadelphia Phillies made no secret of the fact that they planned to be in on Bryce Harper and Manny Machado this offseason. They have done so, but neither of them have signed with the Phillies as of the start of spring training.
Phillies president Andy MacPhail answered for that on Friday, noting that negotiations were a two-way street and that the team had still improved this offseason.
#Phillies president Andy MacPhail on the calls for the club to sign Bryce Harper or Manny Machado: "We're just half the equation. We're just half the equation."
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) February 15, 2019
Like everyone else, #Phillies waiting for Bryce & Machado decisions. MacPhail on club moves so far: "It would be a hard thing to make the case that we're not a considerably better team this year than a year ago for a variety of reasons."
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) February 15, 2019
The Phillies are still in, but MacPhail makes it sound like neither player they’re targeting is ready to make a decision. In Harper’s case, there’s the complicating factor of a division rival watching proceedings closely. The Phillies are still interested, but they’re just not there yet.
