The Phillies rumor of the day involves Manny Machado
The Phillies rumor mill has been extremely quiet since the winter meetings, but according to NBCS Philadelphia’s Jim Salisbury, things could be heating up soon.
According to Salisbury, Machado will visit the Phillies on Thursday as part of his free agency tour.
Other reports say that Machado will be in New York visiting the Yankees on Wednesday, thus making the commute to Philadelphia rather short. He’ll also visit with the Chicago White Sox, who recently acquired his brother-in-law Yonder Alonso.
Philadelphia Phillies
Machado would be the second star free agent to visit Philadelphia this offseason, and hopefully, his visit turns a better result than the first. Patrick Corbin famously visited Philadelphia but later signed with the Washington Nationals.
Machado knows several members of the Phillies’ front office from his time in Baltimore, including two of Philadelphia’s top decision-makers, Matt Klentak and Andy MacPhail.
If the Phillies do sign Machado it would likely be to play third base, thus ending the Maikel Franco era. The Phillies would have to throw enough money at Machado to convince him to play third after the 26-year-old stiffed armed the Orioles into letting him play short.
Philadelphia feels confident in newly-acquired shortstop Jean Segura to handle the position, and it appears Cesar Hernandez won’t be going anywhere this offseason while he recovers from the broken foot he played through last year.
There is no word yet on whether superstar Bryce Harper will visit Philadelphia, but the organization has a very good relationship with Harper’s agent Scott Boras.