o reel in Bryce Harper by flying to Las Vegas for a face-to-face meeting came to an end without a deal done.Middleton flew back to his home in Florida on Saturday after meeting with Harper and agent Scott Boras Mitch Williams Jersey , per Matt Breen of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Even though the two sides did not finalize a contract, Breen noted the Phillies "feel optimistic" about signing Harper and that one reason Middleton stayed longer than intended is because both sides were still in negotiations.ESPN's Buster Olney later reported that contract talks between the Phillies and Harper could be "resolved by Tuesday."USA Today's Bob Nightengale previously reported there is "optimism" that Harper and the Phillies will finalize a 10-year deal by Monday afternoon. Nightengale noted Middleton didn't want to leave Las Vegas without securing a commitment from Harper.Harper's camp was also negotiating with two other teams, and there were "more to follow" after Middleton flew out to meet with the 2015 National League MVP, per MLB Network's Jon Heyman.The Phillies, Padres, San Francisco Giants, Washington Nationals and Chicago White Sox have been the teams most frequently linked to Harper this offseason. In an interview with NBC Sports Washington on Friday,Nationals owner Mark Lerner indicated Harper wouldn't be returning to the team."Nothing's certainly changed on our end," Lerner said. "We've moved on. As I said back then and we had to. There was no way we could wait around. Bryce I'm sure will make his decision hopefully in the next few days, but we've filled out our roster and like I said, we wish him nothing but the best."Heyman added some teams involved in negotiations with Harper have said his asking price for a deal is in the $350-360 million range.If that comes to pass Dave Cash Jersey , Harper's contract would be the largest in Major League Baseball history. It would surpass the $325 million deal Giancarlo Stanton received from the Miami Marlins in November 2014.The 10-year, $300 million deal Manny Machado received from the San Diego Padres on Thursday is the largest free-agent contract signed in MLB history.Harper, 26, has been an All-Star six times in his seven MLB seasons. He hit .249/.393/.496 with 34 home runs and 100 RBI in 159 games for the Nationals in 2018. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — When injuries depleted the Arizona outfield last season, middle infielder Ketel Marte volunteered to be an interim option.The Diamondbacks are taking him up on that offer this year.Marte will move from second base to center field this season as the Diamondbacks reconfigure following the loss of free agent center fielder A.J. Pollock and a perceived dearth of free agents or trade options to replace him.“He feels like he can do anything in this game, and I love that,” Arizona manager Torey Lovullo said.“Last year when A.J. went down, he said, ‘I’ll be the best center fielder. If you need somebody, put me out there.’ That was our starting point with him this year.”Marte made all of his 132 starts in the middle infield in 2018 http://www.philliesfanproshop.com/authentic-pat-neshek-jersey , 105 at second base, and he also reached career highs in virtually every offensive category after signing a five-year, $24 million contract last March.He led the NL with 12 triples and had 26 doubles, 14 homers and 59 RBIs in his first full season.While Marte still will play infield in some lineup configurations this season, he has embraced the move to center.“I want to do whatever is best for the team,” Marte said.Marte played two games in center field with Seattle as a rookie in 2015, and Arizona believes his athleticism and aptitude will help lessen the inevitable learning curve.By his request, Marte has done most of his early work this spring at second base to lock down that spot before beginning the outfield immersion. He also is the only backup shortstop on the roster.“From an instincts standpoint, from an intelligence standpoint, from a raw ability standpoint, athleticism and speed . he has those things Aaron Nola Jersey ,” general manager Mike Hazen said, adding that “of course” there will be bumps along the way.“It’s a hard position to play. There are the areas that reps, only reps, live reps, are going to replicate.”Seattle’s Dee Gordon made the same transition from second base to center field in 2018 before returning to second following Robinson Cano’s 80-game suspension, and he acknowledged it was not easy.“It’s big-league hitters hitting the ball as hard as they can and you’ve never played that spot before,” Gordon said. “And if you drop it, they have two or three bases. That’s the hard part. If the ball went past me at second base, that’s just a base hit.”Marte’s shift also will create a different infield dynamic, with free agent Wilmer Flores taking over at second. Marte and shortstop Nick Ahmed were key parts of a defense that “saved” an NL-high 122 runs over the average defense last season, according to a baseballreference.com metric.But with Pollock and Paul Goldschmidt gone from a team that scored only 693 runs a year ago Juan Samuel Jersey , 119 fewer than they had in 2017, finding a way to create more scoring was another factor in Marte’s position shift. Flores has 61 homers as a semi-regular in his last four seasons with the Mets.“Offense was probably an area where we ended up being a little deficient last year overall, so we have made a couple of moves where hopefully we can address some of that,” Hazen said. “Obviously, the loss of Goldy and A.J. is going to contribute as well, but as far as the defensive alignment goes, even though we might be sacrificing a little bit of defense, we might be better suited offensively.”Marte made a slight swing adjustment after a slow start last season and finished strong, hitting .296 with a .841 OPS after the All-Star break. A switch-hitter, he hit .321 with nine homers against lefties last season.