Bryce Harper is still a free agent with only a few days left before spring training starts. Despite being one of baseball’s marquee free agents this winter, Harper is still looking for a new home.

The latest turn in the Harper saga has the San Francisco Giants entering the fray at the 11th hour. The Giants met with the 26-year-old for a few hours recently and were reportedly very serious in their pursuit of the six-time All-Star. San Francisco planned to offer him a lucrative short-term deal.

Yeah, about that…

On Tuesday, Jon Heyman reported that Harper would not be signing, nor even considering, any short-term deals:

Heyman has also said there are at least eight teams still engaged and checking in on Harper:

He also claims the Philadelphia Phillies believe they will land either Harper or Manny Machado:

This won’t make Chicago Cubs fans happy, but despite previous reports, the franchise has not met with Harper:

One surprise team in the mix on Harper is the San Diego Padres, who have met with him and his representatives. The Padres have been aggressive with both Harper and Machado late in free agency and have been pushing to land one of them.

Harper and Machado being free agents hasn’t gone unnoticed, as Justin Verlander vented about it on Twitter Tuesday:

Neither player appears any close to agreeing to a deal. It’s getting to the point where the offseason’s two biggest free agents may not even be under contract during spring training.

Players can vent about the system being broken all they want, but Harper turned down a 10-year, $300 million offer from the Washington Nationals and opted for free agency. Neither player has gotten what they have deemed a suitable offer, but it could be that their value isn’t as high as they believe it is.

Baseball is changing, and Machado and Harper appear to be the test balloon for the new financial reality of the game.