Phillies rumor: How soon could Manny Machado sign a monster deal?

Manny Machado is the topic of the latest Phillies rumor

A Phillies rumor involving Manny Machado hasn’t been rare the last two years with fans and executives alike waiting for this day to come. The superstar free agent visited Philadelphia as part three of his free agent tour, which was precluded by a trip to Chicago and New York.

Machado was at Citizens Bank Park for about four hours touring the ballpark and meeting with executives and coaches. He was greeted by an electrical worker, reminiscent to when Jim Thome made his famous visit more than a decade ago.

Similar to when Patrick Corbin visited Philadelphia the team welcomed him to the ballpark with his picture and name on Phanavision. They added Machado’s wife’s name to the graphic, which they didn’t do when Corbin visited.

All reports suggest Machado’s free agent tour is over, leaving him with three options: Yankees, White Sox, and Phillies.

Machado said when he walked out of Citizens Bank Park that he “learned a lot about the organization” and that his agent will handle the rest.

To me, that sounds like he’s going to take the most money he can, something the Phillies are prepared to do. A major sticking point might be that he’ll have to move back to third base after insisting he play shortstop for Baltimore last year.

The money might make him feel different and willing to take over third base from Maikel Franco.

Ken Rosenthal said on MLB Network he doesn’t see Machado signing before Christmas, so we could have several more weeks of waiting. At the same time, if only three teams are actually in on Machado, it doesn’t feel like there’s much else for Machado’s camp to do except take in the offers.

At some point, the bidding war is going to end and someone will be holding a press conference with Machado wearing a new uniform. I can’t imagine a three-team bidding war lasting a month.