Harper still in Giants’ sights
Zaidi says team, player share a ‘mutual interest’
The first question that Giants president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi fielded at media availability Friday centered on the meeting that he, Bruce Bochy and Larry Baer had with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Who would have guessed? As the Giants gather at Oracle Park for Saturday’s FanFest, then reassemble in Scottsdale, Ariz., for spring training starting Tuesday, the team’s interest in one of the Big Two free agents will tower over any other issue that arises.
While declining to get into detail, Zaidi acknowledged that he and Harper’s representatives talked before the meeting, and the Giants want to keep the conversation going with a player who is seeking north of $300 million for a very long-term commitment.
Zaidi said the Giants and Harper have “mutual interest.” Moreover, just meeting demonstrates a seriousness on both sides.
“You don’t make a trip out there to meet with a player just for show,” Zaidi said. “Having a kind of face-to-face meeting gives you a different level of being able to engage.
“We had a good conversation over a few hours, and he obviously has got a lot of suitors and a lot of interest. He’s going to have some decisions to make.”
In a perfect world for Zaidi,
the meeting would have remained secret. There was no chance of that, especially after a Giants fan saw Baer at the Bellagio Hotel and shot a selfie of the two that the fan posted on social media.
“It’s kind of hard to deny when your CEO gets made in the casino,” Zaidi said with a laugh.
Friday’s comments surely will end Zaidi’s public discussions on negotiations with Harper, one of the biggest stars to reach free agency in the past decade.
A manager can dream, though.
“We know what a great player he is,” Bochy said. “It was great meeting him. It was really good to get to know Bryce. I can’t tell you what’s going to happen.”
Second baseman Joe Panik, who teamed with Harper in the 2011 Arizona Fall League, would be thrilled to hit in the same lineup and play the field in front of Harper again.
“I’d be ecstatic,” Panik said. “He’s a guy that you want in the clubhouse. His talent speaks for itself. Off the field I had great interactions with him. It was nice to see him off camera getting to know him.”
Pitcher Jeff Samardzija sounded even more excited about the possibility, calling news of the Las Vegas meeting “awesome.”
“You can’t tell me your team isn’t going to be better off with Bryce Harper on it,” Samardzija said. “I’m all for it. I’m all for adding talent. I’m a No. 1 advocate for adding big-name, bigprice talent to your team. It makes you better, period. That’s all there is to it.”