A few thoughts on the possibility (likelihood?) of Manny Machado signing with the New York Yankees.
1. Despite his talent, Machado would be a considerable risk for the Yanks.
Machado would deepen an already lengthy lineup and present multiple options. He could fill in at short until Didi Gregorius returns after mid-season from Tommy John surgery. He could then free up third baseman Miguel Andujar as a trade piece, or a candidate to move across the infield to first base.
But there's so much unknown about Machado. He's never been The Guy on his team. Sure, he was the Orioles' best player for a number of seasons, but Baltimore is a relatively small market and Machado was never the focal point, or even the highest-paid player on his own team, making far less than teammate Chris Davis in each of the last three seasons.
In New York, Machado would have something of a target on his back. If things don't go well -- either for him individually or the Yankees as a team -- he would be in the crosshairs. Machado has also never experienced any sustained time in a suffocating media market. His time with the Dodgers was limited to three months and, in joining the defending NL champs in mid-season, he was never going to be the focal point.
That would change in the Bronx, where Machado would be seen -- fairly or unfairly -- as the missing link. Anything short of a trip to the World Series would be seen as a disappointment.
Add in Machado's habit for occasional lapses in effort ("Johnny Hustle'') and his subsequent clumsy attempts to explain himself, and the mix of Machado and New York might be problematic.
2. The Yankees seem inexorably drawn to stars.
Even as the Yanks appear to be having second thoughts about taking on Giancarlo Stanton's record-setting contract -- Stanton underperformed in his first season and already, the Yanks are sensed to be dreading the nine years remaining on his megadeal.
And yet ... the Yankees aren't being scared off by the kind of commitment Machado will demand. Even if he doesn't land a 10-year deal, it's clear Machado is aiming to land either the biggest overall deal (currently held by Stanton at $325 million) or average annual value ($34.4 million, currently held by Arizona's Zack Greinke).
It follows a pattern: whenever the Yankees have either finished out of the playoffs or bested by the Red Sox, New York's response is to spend their way back to the top. They did after 2008 when they signed Mark Teixeira, CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett.
And they did it again following 2013, when they grabbed Jacoby Ellsbury, Carlos Beltran, Brian McCann and Masahiro Tanaka.
In time, it's more than likely the Yankees -- or whomever lands Machado -- will come to regret this kind of lengthy commitment. It reduces roster flexibility, and invariably, doesn't age well, even if Machado is, at 26, about to enter the prime of his career.
Consider the Top 10 biggest contracts of all time: how many worked out in favor of the team? Certainly not ones given to Albert Pujols or Miguel Cabrera. Or Robinson Cano or Prince Fielder.
3. The Rivalry would be further energized.
In each of the last two seasons, the Red Sox have won the AL East, with the Yankees qualifying as a wild-card entry each time. Last October, for the first time since their epic 2004 ALCS clash, the teams met in the postseason.
Along the way, things got testy on the field. An April takeout slide resulted in a beanball war and benches emptying and suspensions. Joe Kelly emerged as a cult hero. Then there was the whole New York, New York episode with Aaron Judge. For the first time in a while, there seemed to be some genuine dislike between the clubs.
Since the retirement of Alex Rodriguez, the Yankees have been without an obvious villain. Who's going to well up any hatred for Judge or Gleyber Torres? Does Didi Gregorius make a Red Sox fan's blood boil? Is Luis Severino truly worthy of your scorn?
But Machado would fill that role ably. There's already a history there, after Machado's questionable spikes-high slide into Dustin Pedroia in 2017, followed by a rambling, profane diatribe against the entire Red Sox organization weeks later.
Just for good measure, there was Machado's spiking of Steve Pearce at first base during Game 4 of the World Series, ironically, days after Pearce, a former teammate in Baltimore, came to Machado's defense when the baseball world began to turn on him after he had deliberately spiked Milwaukee first baseman Jesus Aguilar in the NLCS.
That the World Series concluded with Chris Sale striking out Machado on a vicious slider only made the victory that much sweeter for Red Sox fans. Now, imagine 19 meetings a year between the teams with Machado starring in the role of Yankee You Love to Hate.
Machado is said to want to play for New York, but there's a belief that the Yankees won't be the high bidders for him. Their stance: if you want to play here so much, take a little less to do so.
That may be a hard path for Machado to take, given the egos involved and the subtext of the competition that exists between Machado and fellow free agent megastar Bryce Harper.
But, boy, it sure would be interesting.
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