Overnight between Sunday and Monday, the first report of a spotting of Dave Roberts and other important individuals in the Dodgers’ organization in Las Vegas was published by Jesse Sanchez of MLB.com. Sanchez told on Twitter that the Dodgers had sent executives to Vegas to meet with Bryce Harper, following a 13-9 Cactus League victory over the Angels.
Transition to Monday morning, and more confirmation and speculation emerges from this spotting. Writers such as Jeff Passan, Ken Rosenthal, and Jon Heyman, some of the game’s biggest reporters, reported the news. Ken Gurnick, the Dodgers’ MLB.com beat writer, confirmed with Dave Roberts that the meeting did happen, as the group including Stan Kasten and Andrew Friedman returned to Camelback Ranch.
Stacks upon stacks of rumors have come about in the past day about the involvement of the Dodgers with Harper, making it difficult to decide what is credible and what is not.
Josh Stinson, a Twitter-verified former professional ballplayer, tweeted this yesterday. While Stinson is verified and someone close to the game, his position doesn’t exactly make his word credible. It wouldn’t be entirely off-base to believe this report because of the credibility surrounding the reporter. However, this rumor is likely not realistic.
This Twitter page has been a talking point among fans all offseason, reporting news that has yet to be reported by anyone else in the business. However, The source in question draws a number of red flags when breaking down the credibility it holds. Going through the account’s tweets, and even in the second of the two quoted tweets made about Bryce Harper and the Dodgers above, grammatical errors are scattered about. Add that to the account’s lack of verification, and it’s easy to dub this source as unreliable.
One of Dodgers Nation’s lead writers, Clint Evans almost always has credible sources behind him when reporting news to Twitter. Although he is not verified, what Evans is reporting has been previously suggested by a number of sources throughout the offseason. It is safe to say that what Evans is saying here is believable.
With rumors becoming more and more solidified by the day, it seems a deal for Bryce Harper could be announced any moment. And, with the happenings of the last few days, that deal could very well involve the Dodgers.