The Bryce Harper Carnival Might End This Week

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According to “sources,” the carnival surrounding Bryce Harper’s free agency should finally, and mercifully, come to an end this week. Bob Nightengale of USA Today tweeted out that Harper’s decision is coming, and it’s a three horse race.

The horses are the Philadelphia Phillies, the San Francisco Giants, and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The heavy favorite remain the Phillies, who have been targeting Bryce Harper since free agency began and seem determined to get their man.

More intriguing, however, is the late entrance of the Dodgers in the Harper derby. Earlier in the offseason, Los Angeles signed A.J. Pollock to sure up their outfield, signalling they had no interest in spending $300 million on the 26-year-old superstar.

If rumors are true, the Dodgers prefer Harper on a short deal, something he has been adamant he is not interested in. Does that mean Los Angeles really doesn’t have a dog in this fight, leaving the Giants and the Phillies to duke it out?

Philadelphia has the money to spend on Harper, and they’ve been claiming they would spend “stupid money” this offseason. Spring training has begun, meaning the offseason has ended and they still haven’t spent that money. If reports are true, they might have missed their mark, but now they’re working on a new timeline.

Unless the Giants make Harper an offer he can’t refuse. Will they? You’ll have to stay tuned to find out.