Yankees are ready to flex their financial might for Manny Machado

There aren’t many teams with the financial resources to sign Manny Machado. The Yankees are ready and willing to hand him a big deal.

Yankees fans hoping to see the return of the Evil Empire may get their wish this winter. The team will enter the offseason with money to burn. If recent reports are accurate, a big chunk of that money is going to go to Manny Machado.

USA Today insider Bob Nightengale correctly points out that only a few MLB teams have the sort of budget to hand the Dodgers star the $300 million dollar contract he covets. More specifically, he thinks the Yankees and Phillies are the two teams most interested in his services. He goes so far as to call New York the “front-runners” in the race to sign Machado.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Machado and Bryce Harper are the two highest profile bats available in free agency this offseason. It’s always been likely that Brian Cashman was going to chase one of the two. The recent injury to shortstop Didi Gregorius combined with the questions about Miguel Andujar’s defense at third make Machado the obvious choice.

The organization certainly has concerns about Machado’s hustle, or lack thereof, but they believe a move to the Bronx could bring the best out of him. No one with the Yankees is remotely concerned about Machado’s obvious disdain for the Red Sox. That’s only going to endear him to everyone associated with the Yankees. His dust-ups with Boston during his days with the Orioles are a positive sign for his ability to fit into Aaron Boone’s clubhouse.

Don’t count out the Phillies though. They also enter the offseason with a firm directive to spend big to get their team back into the postseason in 2019. THey also have an obvious need for a player of Machado’s caliber. Expect them to stay in the race to sign him for quite some time.

In the end, Machado is going to join the Yankees if Cashman and company really want to make it happen. No one is going to outbid them for a player they truly want to sign. This will be a summer of old for fans of the Yankees when it comes to free agency.