Inside the Giants’ High-Stakes Pursuit of Bryce Harper: A Chapter of Near Misses and Lingering Questions
Excerpt from Alex Pavlovic’s “The Franchise: San Francisco Giants,” releasing July 8.
The San Francisco Giants’ 2018–19 offseason quest to land Bryce Harper—a marquee free agent who seemed tailor-made to rejuvenate their roster—unfolded as a saga of tantalizing potential and painful misses. But Harper’s hesitation over manager Bruce Bochy’s uncertain future, coupled with financial hurdles, ultimately sealed the star’s decision to join the Philadelphia Phillies, a move detailed in Pavlovic’s forthcoming book.
A Legacy of Near Misses
San Francisco’s pursuit of Harper followed a pattern of high-profile close calls. Years earlier, executives Larry Baer, Brian Sabean, and Bochy flew to Atlanta in 2014 to court Jon Lester, only for Bochy to intuit during the meeting that the pitcher was Chicago-bound. Similar fate met their 2017 pitch to Shohei Ohtani, whose reluctance to split time between pitching and outfield duties—despite the Giants’ tailored training plan and Bochy’s earnest efforts to learn Japanese—led him to the Angels.
That same winter, a trade sending reigning NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton to San Francisco collapsed when the slugger vetoed the deal, opting instead for the Yankees. These setbacks catalyzed a front-office overhaul, with Farhan Zaidi taking the reins and quickly targeting Harper.
The Harper Gambit
At 26, Harper represented a rare bridge between the Giants’ aging core and future contention. Despite underwhelming career stats at Oracle Park, the outfielder was drawn to its electric postseason atmosphere, reminiscing about facing the 2014 Giants as a visiting player.
In February 2019, Baer, Zaidi, and Bochy met Harper, his wife, and agent Scott Boras in Las Vegas. Harper, who’d idolized Bochy since his teenage years, expressed eagerness to join the Giants but sought clarity on the skipper’s future. With Bochy entering the final year of his contract and no extension talks in sight, Harper’s concerns grew. “The biggest thing that scared me was Bochy leaving,” Harper later admitted.
A $310 Million Gap in Trust
Days before Harper’s decision, he phoned Giants shortstop Brandon Crawford, probing for hints about the team’s managerial plans. None emerged. The Giants’ 12-year, $310 million offer—while substantial—trailed Philadelphia’s $330 million pact, a gap exacerbated by California’s steep tax rates. Boras noted the Giants were “late to the event,” struggling to close the financial and logistical divide.
In a twist, Harper now plays under Gabe Kapler—who replaced Bochy in 2020—after Kapler’s rocky tenure as Phillies manager. “I’m happy where I landed,” Harper said, reflecting on his choice. “But it was close.”
Pavlovic’s “The Franchise: San Francisco Giants” delves deeper into this era of what-ifs, available July 8. Preorder here.
For more Giants analysis, stream the Giants Talk Podcast here.
