Phillies free agency rumors: Are they out on Manny Machado?

LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his first inning strike out against the Boston Red Sox in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 28: Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts to his first inning strike out against the Boston Red Sox in Game Five of the 2018 World Series at Dodger Stadium on October 28, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

MLB insider Jon Heyman spoke on the radio about which team could sign Manny Machado, but there is one team (possibly the Phillies) who is already out on him.

With the offseason in full swing, Phillies fans are gnawing at the bit trying to figure out who the team is going to sign in free agency. According to one insider, the team may be out of the market for polarizing star Manny Machado.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports went on New York’s WFAN radio to discuss the impending free agency market. In the interview, he stated that one big-market team is already out on Machado. He did not say which team it was, but he confirmed that it was not the Yankees or Mets.

Where things get interesting is when the hosts started guessing which team it was. When the hosts guessed Philadelphia, Heyman answered with silence before neither confirming nor denying that it is them.

Now before you get up in arms, keep in mind that Heyman did not explicitly say it was the Phils and not to read into his silence too much. In addition, Heyman stated in a column today that he still sees Philadelphia as the “logical” landing spot for Machado:

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"Our poll done a few months ago of top executives had Machado the winner. Word is, the Phillies are still hanging in there for Machado, and maybe Harper, too. But at least one team I know of has declared themselves out. 10 years, 32.5M per, $325M. The Phillies are the logical call, but he’s believed to love the idea of the Yankees. Me: 10 years, $30M, $300M."

We may just be looking too far into Heyman’s hesitation on the radio. On the other hand, there are reasons to believe why they would no longer want him.

Machado became a lightning rod for criticism during the postseason.

First, he took heat for his comments stating that he would never be one to hustle on every play after failing to run out a ground ball. Then, he ran into the legs of Jesus Aguilar at first base, leading people to call him a dirty player.

After all this occurred on a national stage, the narrative surrounding Machado shifted to whether his actions and comments would lead to less interest in the free agent market. Machado has become a polarizing figure in the league.

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For everything that is surrounding Machado, he would still be an asset to the team. The left side of the infield, especially shortstop, was a black hole of production for the Phils last year. Machado’s bat and glove would both be huge upgrades over Scott Kingery or J.P. Crawford. He may not be the one piece that brings them to the playoffs, but he can still boost the team tremendously.

In all likelihood, this could all just be smoke and mirrors on Heyman’s part that I’m reading way too into. Philadelphia could be on the phone with Machado negotiating right now for all we know. On the other hand, the team may indeed no longer have their eyes on Machado and moved on to another target.

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