MLB rumors: Bryce Harper to meet with Yankees, many others in Vegas

Bryce Harper is one of the best players set to hit the MLB free-agent market, and a large amount of teams are vying for his services.

How many teams? More than a third of the league, per Jeff Passan and Tim Brown of Yahoo! Sports.

"Officials from the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees are among upward of a dozen teams that have traveled or plan to travel to Nevada to meet with Harper, league sources familiar with the discussions told Yahoo Sports," Passan and Brown wrote. "Other meetings already are set for a site away from MLB’s winter meetings, which start Sunday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas."

Harper, who has spent the first seven seasons of his career with the Washington Nationals, could be the first player to receive a contract worth $300 million or more. You can debate if any player really is worth that much, but there's no question he's among the better hitters in the league and someone whose passion for the game sells tickets and merchandise.

The 26-year-old right fielder batted .249 with 34 home runs, 100 RBI and a .393 on-base percentage in 2018. He also struck out a career-high 169 times.

The Yankees scored the second-most runs in the American League last season. They have plenty of power in their lineup and don't really need Harper's bat. New York's pitching was exposed in its American League Division Series loss to the rival Boston Red Sox. That's the area the Yankees should explore improving, which makes starters Dallas Kuechel and Nathan Eovaldi better (and cheaper) fits.

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