Much has been made about the Chicago White Sox’ interest in both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, but their willingness to bring in one or both may not be as strong as it had been believed.
According to ESPN’s Buster Olney, the White Sox do like both Harper and Machado a lot, and are prepared to enter the market for them. The fact that they traded for Yonder Alonso, Machado’s brother-in-law, only intensified the rumors. However, according to Olney, Chicago’s interest falls within the more traditional financial parameters, and the team is unlikely to make a record-setting offer for either player.
The expectation is that both Harper and Machado will sign record deals this offseason. If that’s the case, the White Sox are unlikely to land either player.
In other news, unless the market turns out to be less robust than it seems to be, this report probably won’t hold up. The interest is real, but it does not appear to be the frenzied, aggressive sort.
