SAN DIEGO — Four years ago, John Middleton gassed up his private jet — the white Bombardier Challenger with a Phillies “P” on the tail — and flew to Las Vegas twice to meet with Bryce Harper and help close the largest deal in franchise history.
He wasn’t quite as hands-on when it came to the Phillies’ latest free-agent pursuit.
But as the talks got more serious with Trea Turner — the Phillies’ No. 1 choice over Carlos Correa, according to a source, in a shortstop market that also included Xander Bogaerts and Dansby Swanson — Middleton offered another reminder of why Jimmy Rollins once compared him to George Steinbrenner.
