It was this past Monday when rumors surfaced that the San Francisco Giants are interested in addressing their outfield mess by trading for Jacoby Ellsbury, the high-priced Yankees vet who has been on the block for at least two years and spent all of 2018 on the disabled list.

The report from ESPN’s Buster Olney stated the Giants would be open to a “bad contract for bad contract” swap that would bring them Ellsbury for right-hander Johnny Cueto, a former ace who won’t pitch this season due to his August 2018 Tommy John surgery.

As this interesting late-offseason gossip was spreading, Giants big shots were meeting up with former MVP Bryce Harper.

Harper’s hometown of Las Vegas was the site for talks on Monday that included Giants president and CEO Larry Bair, president of baseball operations Farhan Zaidi and manager Bruce Bochy, NJ Advance Media has learned.

What was said during this meeting is unknown, but it’s believed both sides are interested in working a deal.

With spring training beginning for pitchers and catchers next week, all parties would prefer a quick resolution and recent rumors suggest Harper may be willing to take a three-year contract after being on a winter-long quest to land a record deal that would surpass the $325-million contract that Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton received from the Miami Marlins in November 2014.

Harper, 26, made $21.6 million in 2018 while hitting .249 with 34 homers and 100 RBI for the Washington Nationals. Would he accept $90 million for three years from the Giants? Would the Giants go three for $90?

The Giants badly could use Harper to sure up their shockingly brutal outfield situation that currently includes projected starters who have a combined 511 career at-bats with seven homers and 63 RBI: Chris Shaw in left, Steven Duggar in center, Chris Shaw and Austin Slater in right. With Harper and one more outfield addition – five-time All-Star Adam Jones is still on the market and could go cheap – the Giants potentially could contend this season after losing 89 games in 2018 and 98 in 2019.

And while the Giants’ ballpark is a big one that favors pitching and Harper hasn’t had much success there – he’s hit .164 with two homers in 19 games at AT&T Park – Barry Bonds was a lefty-swinging slugger who fared pretty well there in the 1990s and 2000s. Also, San Francisco is just a 90-minute flight to Las Vegas, so Harper could spend a few off days sleeping in his own bed.

So now we wait at least a little longer to see if Harper lands with the Giants or with one of the other known pursuers who have been unable to get his name on a contract: the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox and San Diego Padres. Returning to the Nationals might be a possibility, too, although that seemingly now is a long shot due to Washington spending big dollars on other needs this winter.

Meantime, the Yankees probably will begin spring training next week with Ellsbury on their 40-man roster hoping to prove that he’s healthy and able to help someone this year after not playing in 2018 after spring training due to numerous injuries, which included season-ending hip surgery in August.

Whether Harper signs with the Giants or not, Ellsbury still could end up in San Francisco, although the $47 million (and two years) remaining on his contract plus his no-trade clause could be problematic.

It’s not known if the Yanks would swap Ellsbury for Cueto, who has $68 million to go on a six-year, $130-million contract that runs through 2021. The Yanks probably would get back all of the $21 million that Cueto will be paid this year while rehabbing, but then they’d be stuck paying $21 million for two more seasons plus a $5 million buyout unless the Giants would agree to pay some of it.

The Giants may be willing to eat money if Ellsbury has a good spring and if they don’t sign Harper and/or Jones. And so, the waiting game is on for Harper, the Giants … and the Yankees.

Randy Miller may be reached at rmiller@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.