Giants fans might not be in the clear to order a Bryce Harper jersey just yet.
There currently is "more smoke than fire at this point" in San Francisco's conversations with the superstar free agent, ESPN's Buster Olney reported on Tuesday.
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Up until this point, there seemed to be renewed optimism surrounding Harper and the Giants. A bookmaker listed the Giants as the odds-on favorite to sign the outfielder on Monday, while catcher Buster Posey and general manager Farhan Zaidi expressed the Giants' interest in no uncertain teams last week.
[RELATED: Harper reportedly won't sign short deal with Giants, anyone else]
The Giants would appear to have a compelling pitch compared to Harper's other known suitors, but Tuesday's report that Harper won't sign a short-term deal with any team could push San Francisco to the periphery. Zaidi's tenure with the Los Angeles Dodgers didn't include many deals longer than a handful of years, and the Giants already have a lot of money locked in to long-term contracts.
Plus, a source told NBC Sports Bay Area's Alex Pavlovic that San Francisco did not offer Harper a contract when the sides met last week in Las Vegas.
San Francisco Giants
Of course, 26-year-olds on a Hall of Fame trajectory who play a clear position of need and love San Francisco, don't come along very often. But is that enough to turn smoke into fire?
With pitchers and catchers already in camp in Arizona, the answer could come sooner rather than later.