Phillies Rumors: Philly Meeting with Bryce Harper; Waiting on Manny Machado

The Philadelphia Phillies plan to meet with free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper in "the next week or so," NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury reported Wednesday.

According to Salisbury, Philadelphia is still in the hunt for free-agent shortstop Manny Machado, who "remains the Phillies' primary focus."

The Phillies were one of the few teams granted an in-person meeting with Machado. He visited Philadelphia on Dec. 20 after having already met with representatives for the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.

ESPN.com's Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that the "general consensus" believes Machado will make a decision before Harper and that the Phillies, White Sox and Yankees appear to be the only teams in contention.

Machado (30.2) and Harper (30.7) are almost equal in career WAR since 2012, per FanGraphs. Machado's defense and overall consistency arguably make him the more attractive free agent, though.

Landing Machado is far from a sure thing for Philadelphia, so keeping Harper on the team's radar makes sense.

The Phillies have already strengthened their lineup by acquiring Jean Segura from the Seattle Mariners and signing Andrew McCutchen to a three-year, $50 million deal. Adding Harper to the outfield would make Philadelphia a formidable threat in the National League East.

Washington Nationals principal owner Mark Lerner confirmed in December the team had offered Harper a 10-year, $300 million deal and that that was the highest Washington would go. Forbes.com's Barry M. Bloom reported that offer is the bar to clear for any team interested in signing the six-time All-Star.