Dustin Bradford/Getty ImagesNearing the end of the first full week

of spring training Anthony Rizzo Jersey , there may be a light at the end of the free-agent tunnel for Bryce Harper.Per Matt Breen of thePhiladelphia Inquirer, the Philadelphia Phillies have grown "confident" they will sign Harper as the two sides have ramped up their negotiations in recent days.Breen noted Philadelphia began the offseason "with the expectation" of signing either Harper or Manny Machado.The Machado sweepstakes ended Tuesday when the All-Star shortstop agreed to a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres, per MLB.com'sMark Feinsand.Appearing onCBS Sports HQ (h/t CBS Sports'Cody Benjamin), The Athletic's Jim Bowden reported Harper's eventual deal will exceed Machado's deal as well as the $325 million deal the Miami Marlins gave Giancarlo Stanton in November 2014.The San Francisco Giants have been linked to Harper recently, butUSA Today'sBob Nightengalereported their offer will be a "lucrative short-term deal" instead of the potentially long-term contract he could receive elsewhere.The Phillies are competing with the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals atop the National League East. Signing Harper would not only make them better http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey , it would also take him away from the Nationals.Harper, 26, has hit .279/.388/.512 with 184 homers in seven MLB seasons. He's been named to the NL All-Star team six times and won the 2015 NL MVP award. Former Oregon State Beavers pitcher Luke Heimlich has signed with the Dos Laredos Tecolotes of Liga Mexicana de Beisbol, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan.Heimlich went undrafted in 2018 after he pled guilty as a teenager tomolesting his six-year-old niece when he was 15.He later denied any misconduct when the molestation charge wasfirst reported, tellingKurt Streeterof theNew York Timesin May 2018 that "nothing ever happened" and that he only pled guilty for the sake of his family.After prior crimes surfaced, Heimlich continued to pitch for Oregon Stateand did so at a high level. The left-hander went 16-3 with a 2.92 ERA in 21 appearances (20 games) as a senior last year Andre Dawson Jersey , striking out 159 batters in 129.2 innings.He was the Pac-12 Pitcher of the Year twice (2017 and 2018) and was alsonamedthe 2018 National Pitcher of the Year.Heimlich's arm had him the conversation to be a first-round pick. However, 1,214 players were drafted in a total of 40 rounds, and Heimlich's name was not called. That does not mean teams did not consider him, though.Kansas City Royals general manager Dayton Moore made it known that his organization was doing its due diligence on the prospect."The truth of the matter is, I was hoping Ron Santo Jersey , as the general manager, that somebody else would draft and sign him," Moore said in a televised interview with Fox Sports Kansas City in June 2018, (h/t The Athletic'sRustin Dodd). "Maybe I don't have enough courage."Moore added that he believed Heimlich had "earned" a second chance.Kansas City did not wind up signing the southpaw, though.Heimlichsignedwith theLamigo Monkeys of theChinese Professional Baseball League last summer, but the league quickly ordered the team toterminatethe contract because of his criminal history.While no MLB team has taken a chance on Heimlich http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-david-ross-jersey ,Passannoted two scouts who saw the 23-year-old on the mound recently believe he would be ready to pitch in the majors this season if given the opportunity.