Bryce Harper Rumors: Padres Not Pursuing Star After Signing Manny Machado

The San Diego Padres already made the biggest splash of the MLB offseason, reportedly signing Manny Machado to a 10-year, $300 million deal, per Mark Feinsand of MLB.com. 

And Jon Heyman of the MLB Network even reported on Tuesday afternoon that the team might not be done there.

Landing both Machado and Bryce Harper in the same offseason—two of baseball's biggest stars—would be a shocking development. But it appears the Padres will be stopping with Machado. Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune, for example, reported earlier Tuesday that the Padres were "out" on Harper.

Bob Nightengale of USA Today reported the same on Tuesday evening:

It's unclear just what the market will be for Harper. The Washington Nationals reportedly offered him the exact deal Machado ended up with in October, which he turned down. Will the Nationals get back in the bidding?

The Chicago White Sox and Philadelphia Phillies have also been linked to Harper throughout the offseason, though the Phillies feel like far more likely candidates to splash the major cash it will take to bring in Harper: 

Of course, the Phillies may not be Harper's dream destination, either:

The San Francisco Giants have also been rumored to have Harper interest, though they reportedly only want to do a shorter-term deal, which could be a dealbreaker.

And, of course, there's always the chance that a mystery team will swoop in at the last minute to sign Harper. At this stage that feels more like something Harper's agent, Scott Boras, would like teams to believe to drive up his client's value, rather than an actual possibility. 

So there was a scenario in which the Padres could be a contender in the Harper sweepstakes if they were willing to break the bank a second time. But that would mean tying up $600 million in contracts to two players for the next decade.

And it appears the Padres aren't interested in going down that road.