The San Francisco Giants may not be as serious of a player for Bryce Harper as initially thought.
NBC Sports’ Alex Pavlovic reported on Wednesday that the Giants’ reported interest in Harper is “overblown.” He quotes a source who told him the team was “shocked” by some rumors tying Harper to the Giants.
A report last month used evidence from social media posts to prove how much Harper likes San Francisco, potentially tying him to the Giants in free agency.
Harper is expected to take the deal that offers him the most money, and Pavlovic was told not to expect the Giants to be that team.
Furthermore, the Giants were able to land Farhan Zaidi as their new president of baseball operations. Zaidi’s front office with the Los Angeles Dodgers did not give away large contracts during his tenure, so signing a player like Harper to a megadeal wouldn’t seem to fit in with his style.
The Giants seemingly consider Zaidi to be their big move of the offseason and may trust him to build the team however he sees fit. Zaidi may choose to avoid handing out such a large deal, especially when Harper is expected to sign for over $350 million.
