Manny Machado shouldn’t plan on driving a Brink’s truck to the Bronx.
The New York Yankees remain in contact with the free-agent infielder as his employment saga drags toward the start of spring training, SNY’s Andy Martino reported Monday, citing Major League Baseball sources. The Yankees once were considered front-runners to sign Machado, but the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago White Sox reportedly have courted him more aggressively than the Bronx Bombers in recent months. Nevertheless, the Yankees still are in the hunt to sign one of the biggest prizes of this offseason, just one week before their position players report for spring training.
Former MLB general manager Jim Duquette told SNY on Saturday he heard the Yankees have offered Machado a contract in the range of seven or eight years and $220 million. However, the Yankees reportedly aren’t front-runners to sign Machado because their offer is lower than what he is hoping to net in free agency, according to a person close to the player.
Sources close to Machado believe he ultimately will sign with the team that offers him the most money, per Martino, but the Yankees continue to check in with him in case negotiations with other teams fall through or his salary becomes a lower priority in choosing his next team.
Positional needs also might come into play. Machado prefers to play shortstop over third base, where he has spent much of his career, but the Yankees intend to deploy newly-signed Troy Tulowitzki at short until Didi Gregorius returns. If Machado joins the Yankees, the team would play him as a third baseman and move Miguel Andujar to first base, sources told Martino.
