MLB Rumors: Bryce Harper Or Manny Machado Might Sign With Phillies

Opening day in the 2019 season of Major League Baseball is less than two months away, and two of the biggest stars out there are still free agents. Bryce Harper and Manny Machado aren’t just two of the biggest free agents for this era, but of all-time, and they are still without a home. A lot of speculation has been going around about them both, but the latest rumors are pointing to at least one of them ending up with the Philadelphia Phillies.

Spring training officially begins in about a week, and fans are still wondering where these two great athletes are going to land. As reported by the Inquisitr, the San Francisco Giants reportedly jumped into the mix after having a mutually-decided-upon meeting with Bryce Harper.

Still, the Giants haven’t signed Harper and he’s awaiting the best offer out there, and the same can be said for Machado. New rumors are starting to swirl and that is beginning to stir up old speculation, which may have a lot more relevance now than it did three months ago.

According to ESPN’s Buster Olney prediction, by way of the Spun, either Bryce Harper or Manny Machado will be a member of the Philadelphia Phillies by the end of February. He wasn’t sure which one it would be, but he did say that one of the stars were going to “jump” on a very big contract offer and sign it.

Column: The small group of suitors appear to have the upper hand in the Machado and Harper talks. https://t.co/k80hPRUtu7

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) February 6, 2019

Depending on who ends up landing with the Phillies, all is not lost for the other MLB superstar who doesn’t end up in Philadelphia. Olney also states that Harper and Machado have a “safety net” of sorts with the Chicago White Sox and will take their offer if the Phillies are out of the running.

It appears as if more and more teams in Major League Baseball are wanting to wait as long as possible to sign free agents. That’s what happened with the Boston Red Sox and J.D. Martinez last year, and he didn’t end up signing until February 26.

Over the last week, the odds-on favorites for signing Harper have been the Phillies, Giants, San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles Dodgers. The Washington Nationals are not totally out of the picture as they still have hopes of re-signing him, but their chances are slim.

San Francisco had jumped out as the frontrunners at one point, but according to CBS Sports, it would only be for a short-term deal.

Machado is on the radar of the Phillies, White Sox, Padres, and New York Yankees. There had been reports that the White Sox had offered Machado a deal of $250 million for eight years, but it appears as if that has not been overly accurate.

Have heard reported offer of 250M for 8 yrs for Machado by White Sox isn’t right. May or may not be close, but guess would be that at least today it’s a bit lower. Higher than 175 but lower than 250. At least at moment. (So yes, we still don’t have facts, just educated guesses.)

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 12, 2019

Bryce Harper and Manny Machado are going to go down in Major League Baseball history as two of the greatest players ever, but where will they play in 2019? Most MLB insiders would be shocked if one of them doesn’t land with the Philadelphia Phillies, and it seems as if it will happen within the next two weeks. Once the Phillies sign one of them, though, it could be the White Sox or Giants scooping in for the other.