Bryce Harper Rumors: Padres Never Made Formal Contract Offer to Superstar

The San Diego Padres made a big splash earlier this month when they signed Manny Machado. 

They never got close to landing the winter's other big free-agent name.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the Padres never made a formal offer to Harper. The two sides never got past a "proposal," which Harper declined.

The Padres and Machado agreed last week on a 10-year, $300 million contract that is the richest free-agent deal in North American sports history. There was some speculation the Padres could throw their hat into the ring on Harper as well, but that appears unfounded. It was already a surprise that the small-market Padres made such a splash with Machado; adding Harper too seemed farfetched.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies are among the teams interested in Harper. It's expected he will sign a deal that eclipses Machado's $300 million pact.

Representatives from the Dodgers, Phillies and other unnamed teams met with Harper and agent Scott Boras over the weekend in Las Vegas. 

Harper, 26, hit .249/.393/.496 with 34 home runs and 100 runs batted in last season. It was a bit of a disappointment given the expectation of an MVP-caliber year but still enough for his fourth straight All-Star appearance. He has a wins above replacement of 3.0 or better in each of the last four seasons and six of the last seven.