Earlier today Matt Breen cited a source in reporting that the Phillies are “confident they will sign Bryce Harper” and have ramped up discussions with the free agent superstar.

Now we’ve got NBC Sports Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury dropping a piece titled “Despite rumors, Bryce Harper has no issues playing in Philly.“

Salisbury writes this:

Are the rumors true?

“No,” a person close to the free-agent slugger told us this week.

Harper, the person said, has no aversion to playing in Philadelphia. He is familiar with the city after visiting it three times a year with the Washington Nationals over the last seven seasons and he likes hitting in Citizens Bank Park where he has a .930 OPS, 14 homers and 32 RBIs in 50 career games.

Now, if Harper were able to write his own storybook script, he may lean toward signing with a California-based club like the Dodgers. He is from Las Vegas and would value playing close to home. In glitzy Los Angeles, he could also be the LeBron James of baseball.

It’s interesting to see two local guys drop separate pieces only two hours apart. Breen cites a “source” while Salisbury uses “a person close to” Harper, so if you’re a conspiracy theorist, you could believe that this is the work of his agent, Scott Boras, putting his grimy fingerprints where they don’t belong.  Both stories work from positive premises, so there’s also that commonality.

Continues Salisbury, after the jump:

According to the aforementioned person who is close to him, Harper would have no qualms coming to Philadelphia if the Phillies win these sweepstakes. The person said that Harper has gotten good reports on the city and the fans from current and former Phillies with whom he maintains friendships.

Money will still be the driving force in this deal. Concerns over destination appear to be overblown.

This has been your Harper Watch 2019 update.