Did White Sox acquire Yonder Alonso to appeal to Manny Machado?
The Chicago White Sox may have had a greater prize in mind when they acquired Yonder Alonso in a trade.
The White Sox acquired Alonso in a trade with the Cleveland Indians on Friday, as first reported by Watch Stadium.
Alonso is the brother-in-law of Manny Machado, so there is some thought that the White Sox are trying to appeal to the free agent shortstop. Ken Rosenthal mentioned this factor on Thursday, a day before Alonso was traded.
Value-obsessed baseball teams do not think like this, but it would be interesting if a Manny Machado suitor traded for his brother-in-law, #Indians 1B Yonder Alonso, who now figures to be highly available. Alonso would amount to a $9M enticement, but who’s counting?
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) December 13, 2018
The White Sox are among the teams said to have high interest in Machado.
Alonso, 31, is making $8 million next season and has a $1 million buyout for 2020, so he’s only guaranteed $9 million. He batted .250 with 23 homers and a .738 OPS last season. Dealing him helps the Indians clear some payroll, which could allow them to keep all of their starting pitchers despite the trade rumors.
