The Manny Machado nationwide tour has officially kicked off as the New York Yankees await their turn to meet with the free-agent star infielder.
After meeting with the Chicago White Sox on Monday, Machado will head to the Bronx on Wednesday to meet with Yankees brass, including general manager Brian Cashman. He will head out to Philadelphia and meet with the Phillies on Thursday, per USA Today Sports’ Bob Nightengale.
The 26-year-old Machado will provide the Yankees with a golden opportunity to salvage the first half of Major League Baseball’s offseason while returning things to a sense of normalcy.
For a franchise that is used to getting whichever player it pleases, the Yankees have watched as free-agent starting pitchers Patrick Corbin, whose childhood team was the Bronx Bombers, joined the Washington Nationals before Nathan Eovaldi re-signed with the arch-rival Red Sox.
It’s those Red Sox who are not only the class of the American League East, who the Yankees are currently looking up at but of the MLB as defending World Series Champions.
Cashman has attempted to acquire the final pieces of a championship puzzle to further improve on a 100-win team. The main issue has been starting pitching, which was addressed by the trade for James Paxton and the re-signing of JA Happ. However, it leaves something to be desired in a starting rotation that still is expected to rely heavily on Luis Severino, Masahiro Tanaka, and CC Sabathia.
A major hole for at least the first half of the 2019 season emerged after starting shortstop Didi Gregorius underwent Tommy John surgery in October, leaving the left side of the Yankees infield with plenty of question marks. Those concerns are only intensifying after reports emerged on Monday that the Yankees might be looking to trade third baseman and Rookie of the Year runner-up Miguel Andujar.
It suddenly makes Machado a must-get for plenty of Yankees fans. However, it remains to be seen just how aggressive management will be if negotiations begin.
Machado was believed to be a $300 million-plus player this offseason, but a down postseason and hustling issues have hurt his value. While the Yankees have been linked with Machado throughout the year, it has been reported that they will not pay such a lucrative price for his services.
On Tuesday, though, the Yankees brought on former outfielder Carlos Beltran (also of the Mets) as a special advisor to Cashman, per MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. Beltran’s agent was Dan Lozano of MVP Sports Group, who also represents Machado.
That suggests that the Yankees’ initial tune is changing and will continue to do so if Wednesday’s meeting goes well.
Or if desperation sets in.
After all, every passing day without a major deal to better the roster is just another step closer toward the Red Sox continuing their reign as top dogs in the American League. No matter what kind of budget the Yankees are on, that’s an unacceptable concept for management to comprehend.
And you don’t need to be an insider to realize that.
