In less than a week, MLB pitchers and catchers begin reporting to spring training. And yet, Bryce Harper remains without a team.
Beyond the clubs publicly interested in Harper — Nationals, Phillies, Padres, White Sox — Jim Bowden reported Monday at least one "mystery team" has now entered the fray.
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, 2019Bowden says he doesn't know the identity of the mystery team/teams, but among the various names Bowden threw out there, 106.7 The Fan's Grant & Danny believe the Giants are an intriguing option.
"I will be really surprised if the San Francisco Giants don't at some point try to get in on this," Grant Paulsen said.
"That was the team — by the way, this is months ago when this whole thing started — I looked at. An aging, overpriced, broken up roster, a new GM coming in (Farhan Zaidi) — he was the sous chef in Los Angeles (with the Dodgers) — I thought they would try to make a big splash," Danny Rouhier added.
"I always thought they needed an injection of life. They were hanging on too tight for so long and they were old, and I thought that would be a great fit. They would be able to sell him, 'You're the new Barry Bonds. You are the icon that's gonna be here, jersey will hang, statue, the whole nine yards. It hasn't happened. It hasn't materialized."
"And you're competing ... for baseball love in California, in the National League," said Paulsen. "The Dodgers have been in on Harper, the Padres have been in on Harper. I just have always thought at some point San Francisco would emerge, and I'm surprised it hasn't happened yet."
"But if in fact there are these private teams that we don't know about secretly behind the scenes talking to him, I think the Giants would make a lot of sense to be one of them."
As the Bryce Harper sweepstakes come towards the finish line, I think @granthpaulsen is right. One of these mystery teams probably is the @SFGiants Makes too much sense. They should make sure they have a seat at the table. Can't allow the #Padres to win the pursuit.#SFGiants
— Chris Russell (@Russellmania621) February 5, 2019Follow Josh Luckenbaugh and 106.7 The Fan on Twitter.
