With the Phillies meeting with Bryce Harper this weekend, it could well be the case that he becomes their primary focus. And with the Yankees having brought in D.J. LeMahieu and Troy Tulowitzki, it also may well be the case that the Yankees are out on Machado.
If that’s true, it could just be the White Sox and any Mystery Teams left in the race, and it kinda seems like the White Sox are now trying to close the deal:
The Chicago White Sox have offered Manny Machado an eight-year deal and could be compelled to go even longer, league sources tell ESPN. The Phillies remain in on him as their Bryce Harper pursuit heats up. The latest on the biggest free agents, at ESPN: https://t.co/UojB6trmDX
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) January 14, 2019
SOURCE: The #WhiteSox have offered Manny Machado an eight-year, US$250 million deal, #Phillies still involved.
First to reported @JeffPassan.#ZDigital #ZDeportes @z101digital @ZDeportes
— Héctor Gómez (@hgomez27) January 14, 2019
That would be a very significant offer for the White Sox, and at least a little closer to what it seems like the market should be bearing for a 26-year-old star. Machado was hoping to break Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 million record, but it seems like that’s not going to happen as the pursestrings tighten all around baseball.
Given the White Sox’s acquisitions of Machado’s close friend Jon Jay and brother-in-law Yonder Alonso, it makes all the more sense that they’d try to put the foot down and just get a deal finished for a guy who always seemed like a perfect fit.
Recent reports had the White Sox limited to seven years in their offer, and around $200 million, so either they’ve considerably upped their offer, the original reports were wrong, or these new reports are wrong. The reality? It’s probably a creative contract offer for which the money is kinda unclear to those not directly at the negotiating table. There are ways that an eight-year contract kinda is more like a seven-year contract, and a $250 million offer is kinda more like a $200 million offer.
This could be nearing a conclusion, though, and with it, you’d probably see things on the Bryce Harper front accelerate even more.