Now batting for the Yomiuri Giants ... Bryce Harper?
As negotiators from Major League Baseball and the Players Association were getting warmed up Monday for a 16-hour marathon bargaining session that didn’t end until 2:30 a.m. Tuesday, and amid the league’s threat to begin canceling games, Harper posted a creative Instagram story. The Phillies star and reigning National League MVP superimposed a “Tokyo” uniform on a photo of himself above this caption: “Aye @yomiuri.giants. You up? Got some time to kill. I know you got @borascorp number. Let’s talk.”
Now, Harper was probably just having some fun at a tense time in the labor talks. Clearly he’s bored. And the talks took a more positive turn Monday night, leading to increased optimism that a deal may be reached by Tuesday evening. But intentional or not, he raised a fascinating hypothetical: If MLB cancels games and cuts back full-season salaries, could locked-out players sign with teams in Japan, Korea, or other overseas leagues? Would they?
