Phillies rumor: Manny Machado race down to two teams
A new Phillies rumor surround Manny Machado has hit Twitter
The latest Phillies rumor connected to the Manny Machado saga comes as things begin to “heat up” for the superstar infielder.
Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital and MLB Network says the race for Machado is down to two teams: the White Sox and Phillies.
Jon Heyman retweeted Gomez’s report and said that while the Yankees haven’t been told they are out of the Machado race, they haven’t been negotiating or engaged in talks for the 26-year-old.
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If the race is down to the Phillies and White Sox, Philadelphia is likely to offer the most money, though they haven’t offered the $300 million deal many predicted, according to reports.
Should Machado chose the Phillies, expect a deal to get done involving Maikel Franco, potentially to the San Diego Padres. They’ve had a long-standing interest in him, and they’re reportedly on standby with Mike Moustakas.
Philadelphia also has a meeting with Bryce Harper in Las Vegas on Saturday. It’s hard to imagine the Phillies making a trip to Vegas if they know Machado is in their back pocket, and signing both players is very unlikely.
Chicago has stepped up their game lately by bringing in Machado’s brother-in-law Yonder Alonso and his workout buddy Jon Jay, but is that enough to convince Machado to play for a team years away from contending, something Machado has dealt with most of his career with the Orioles?
Philadelphia gives Machado a chance to win, and although he might not be able to play shortstop after the acquisition of Jean Segura, he’d be a major upgrade over Franco at third.