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When a Brinks truck arrived at the Dodgers' offices at Camelback Ranch on Monday morning, it could be a harbinger of the conclusion of the Bryce Harper saga that has lasted for several months.
"Sometimes real life is just too difficult," commented ESPN journalist Pedro Gomez with a video of the truck.
Harper, of course, was not here to collect his megamillions and join the two defending league titles in the National League.
Sometimes a Brinks truck is only a Brinks truck.
The manager, Dave Roberts, has confirmed reports that Dodgers' management and he made Sunday the quick flight to Las Vegas to try to persuade the independent player to place his talent at the club Chavez Ravine.
Almost everyone had conceded that Harper would end up with the Phillies after President John Middleton flew Friday to Vegas to court Harper and his agent Scott Boras, refusing to bring Phillies President Andy MacPhail.
But the Dodgers arrived unexpectedly, in the manner of one of those radio companies where the guy runs through the airport and stops the woman as she prepares to take her plane, persuading her to drop her fiance and marry her.
Roberts told reporters at Camelback Ranch that it was just a question on the part of the Dodgers to do due diligence.
"We are always trying to improve our team," he said. "You always try to improve in any way, whether off the field or in the field. It's a little where we are. But the focus is obviously on the camp players. "
Obviously. But back to Bryce …
Would a short-term agreement be the team's preference? Harper is supposedly a 10-year contract but also loves Hollywood.
Roberts said that he could not talk about the talks.
"I have to personally focus on the 61 guys here," he said.
Yes of course. But how did the meeting with Bryce go?
"It was good," he said. "I'm just trying to get to know each other. In our mind, the Dodger (organization), controlling a certain process makes sense. And (it makes sense) these guys are doing due diligence as well. "
Harper has been a free agent since November and the winter meetings were held in December in his hometown of Las Vegas. He could have saved a lot of time and airline tickets to everyone if he signed before the New Year.
But this is apparently the new norm. Bending to the free agent of the superstar on his terms is part of the bargaining process.
Roberts did not want to discuss the questions Harper had asked the Dodgers, and he repeated, "Now I have to focus on the guys here."
Of course.
But how did Roberts feel about Harper?
"I know Bryce," he says. "He spent time with him last July in the All-Star game. Heck of a player. Grandfather, good guy.
Effectively. And beautiful hair.
In the end, Roberts did not put too much stock in the meeting.
"I'm not too optimistic or anything," he said. "This is just talking, just conversation."
Cubs should be concerned that the conversation will lead to an agreement. In the worst case, Harper would end up with the favorites of the NL, the team that had knocked them out in the 2017 NLCS and threatened to close the window of their vaunted chance to win several world series.
The Cubs could have chosen to sue Harper or other important free agents, but President Tom Ricketts insisted they "had no more money" to spend.
The players seemed to buy this excuse. Anthony Rizzo, asked about Harper at the opening of the camp, said: "They were pretty clear at the end of the season to say that it was the group we believe in."
The White Sox, meanwhile, have money to spend and are supposed to be at the rendezvous all winter for Manny Machado or Harper. Just a month ago at SoxFest, Managing Director Rick Hahn was interviewed on Machado and responded by pairing Machado and Harper together.
"We are at the negotiating table," he said. "We belong to these negotiations for premium talent and, no matter what will happen over the next few weeks with one or the other of these two players, we plan to stay at the table and continue to try to convert those players. "
But according to reports, the Phillies, Dodgers and Giants are the only teams on the photo for Harper, and only the Phillies are willing to sign a 10-year deal. The Sox did not think they could respond to Harper's demands, did not think it was worth it, or did not want to be thrown back to the altar twice in a few weeks.
So, who gets Bryce?
Baseball President Andrew Friedman was shy about the Dodgers' interest in Harper, and perhaps the "check" was just a shot in the dark to see how much Harper likes LA. But who knows? Just last week, Friedman criticized the fact that lengthy negotiations for Machado, Harper and others meant that homeowners were freezing free agents.
"It is clear that this is not the case and that the pace of a negotiation can unfold in different ways and (Machado) obviously took a little longer," Friedman said. "But finally, he had a very strong contract, as it should be."
Harper will eventually have his Brinks truck full of money.
It's just a question of who pays millions on it.
Twitter @PWSullivan
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