Recapping the past 24 hours of Biogenesis insanity

In case you had the good sense to enjoy a sunny late spring day and watch some baseball rather than keep tabs on all of the minutiae surrounding baseball’s latest PED scandal, here is everything you need to know about the Biogenesis business:

ESPN reported last night that Major League Baseball is getting in bed with Anthony Bosch and looking to suspend multiple players associated with Biogenesis. What players? These players;
We at HardballTalk reported this afternoon that while, yes, baseball is moving forward with Bosch, suspensions are not yet decided upon. But a timeline is in place. Player interviews in June, potential suspensions in early July and then litigation chaos, presumably, immediately thereafter. Here’s what happens next.
Whenever baseball does take action, if they seek to suspend multiple players at once, they are (a) making a big mistake; and (b) furthering their desire to deal with public relations disasters before actually dealing with baseball’s drug problem;
The man who Major League Baseball has as its star witness — Anthony Bosch — is severely compromised. But that probably won’t stop people from trying to rehabilitate his character;
And, based on the words of an expert in this area, they really do need to rehabilitate that character if there’s a chance in h-e double hockeysticks that any player suspensions stick.
Ryan Braun denies any wrongdoing, saying “the truth has not changed.” He was out of the lineup today.
Alex Rodriguez is the other MVP name mentioned. Has all of this tarnished his legacy?
Speaking of legacy, what does all of this mean for Bud Selig’s legacy? Because suspending 20 guys at once is something I wouldn’t have expected from him.

That’s the state of the scandal at this hour. As always, check out HardballTalk for the latest in everything that matters with this case and, oh yeah, baseball in general. Which still exists, and that is a very, very good thing.

Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia reports that Phillies owner John Middleton flew to Las Vegas for a meeting with Bryce Harper on Friday. Per ESPN’s Jeff Passan, it’s “more of a meet-and-greet than a sign-a-deal” affair, but as the club is still at the forefront of trade rumors involving the All-Star slugger, there remains a possibility (however slight) that something could be completed in the days to come.

Even now, the Phillies aren’t alone in the race to sign Harper, but recent rumors have helped whittle down the competition from five or more teams (Phillies, Nationals, White Sox, Giants, and Padres) to three strong contenders. The Giants are said to be interested in a lucrative short-term deal with the outfielder, while the Padres remain in the conversation despite inking Manny Machado to a mammoth 10-year, $300 million contract this week. It’s not yet clear just how far either team would go to outbid Philadelphia as talks with Harper intensify.

As for the Nationals and White Sox, the former officially bowed out earlier today, and MLB Network’s Jon Heyman adds that the latter won’t make a strong play for Harper as they feel the asking price and competing offers are “getting too high” for the 26-year-old’s services. If a mystery team is still in the mix, there’s been no word on their standing with Harper in the last month or so.