Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge would like to see Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado as a teammate and Brian Cashman isn’t here for that.
The Major League Baseball season is just around the corner and one of the bigger storylines heading into the year is if Baltimore Orioles franchise cornerstone Manny Machado will still be with the team by the trade deadline. Baltimore appears to be a step behind the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the A.L. East and Machado is a free agent in 2019. That’s led to speculation that he might be traded, and the Orioles had talks over the winter.
Yankees star outfielder Aaron Judge made some waves Wednesday when he brought up the Orioles stud.
Aaron Judge thinks the Yankees' lineup could be "something special" with Manny Machado. https://t.co/N8XGeXUPf3
— ESPN (@espn) March 15, 2018
It’s not a good look when a player is actively recruiting another player when he’s still under contract. Although many folks around baseball fully believe Machado is gone, Judge can’t be seen “pitching” to another player to come to New York. It didn’t go unnoticed by Yankees general manager Brian Cashman.
Re: Manny Machado, Aaron Judge said that he got a call from Brian Cashman last night, reminding him that MLB is “sensitive to that kind of stuff.” Said the call took about 30 seconds. “Now I know,” Judge said.
— Bryan Hoch ⚾️ (@BryanHoch) March 15, 2018
Judging by the tenor of this tweet, it would seem the young man got a bit of an earful from his GM. It’s not hard to understand why, either. If MLB got even a whiff of any kind of tampering, the penalties would surely be severe. The Yankees would most likely face a hefty fine and possibly losing picks or international signing money.
The fact the phone call took about 30 seconds also likely means Judge didn’t do much talking. There is every reason to think the Yankees are going to be major players for Machado, whether it’s at the deadline or in free agency over the winter. Their farm system is very strong and even though it would be a trade within the division, the Yanks are likely one of the only teams that can offer a large return and have the money for a Machado extension.
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Nobody can blame Yankees fans for feeling like they can accomplish anything after they pilfered Giancarlo Stanton from the Marlins. Their players would just be wise to not mention players under contract when discussing future teammates.