To the extent Manny Machado’s signing is the tip of the spear for any other moves out there – for example, if Scott Boras is going to insist that he set the baseline for Bryce Harper’s contract – then we’re all going to be in for a holiday slowdown.
Manny Machado has conveyed to the three known interested teams — White Sox, Yankees and Phillies — that his decision will come after the new year.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 21, 2018
I suspect he hasn’t even yet received total best-and-final offers from the teams, though, so additional jockeying from here would not be surprising.
Further, I’m sure we’ll see additionally rumor-mongering between now and January 2, but transaction activity might be somewhat limited. Everyone involved tends to be a human being with a family, and although a lot of these guys are hardwired not to take breaks, enough of them will that getting a significant deal done over the next two weeks would be a surprise (hence the flurry of deals finalized today).