Manny Machado reportedly seeking contract larger than Giancarlo Stanton’s

If Manny Machado is looking to become the highest-paid player in the history of baseball, there’s a strong chance he is going to end up very disappointed.

The Chicago White Sox are one of the teams that have shown interest in signing Machado, and ESPN’s Buster Olney reported on Wednesday that the offer they have on the table to the free agent slugger is for $175 million over seven years.

The White Sox offer to Machado is for $175 million, over seven years. In some ways, their approach is like Boston's w/ J.D. Martinez last winter — the Red Sox offered $100 million and waited for two months. If CWS offer emerges as best, a big ? is: Would Machado/NYY re-engage?

— Buster Olney (@Buster_ESPN) January 16, 2019

It has been widely reported that the White Sox are not willing to go past seven years, and they seem to be sticking to that principle. Of course, that offer is roughly half of the $325 million Giancarlo Stanton got from the Miami Marlins, and Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports reports that Machado has been seeking a deal comparable with that one.

If Chisox offer to Machado really is 175M, that’s 150M-plus less than asking price. Multiple sources say his agent at different times has asked teams to “top Stanton.” Giancarlo deal was 325M. Quite a gap.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 16, 2019

Stanton had just turned 25 when he signed his mega-contract with the Marlins in 2014, and it should be noted that it is a 13-year deal. That means the average annual value is $25 million, which is the same as what the White Sox reportedly offered Machado. Stanton obviously got more long-term security, but he was not eligible to become a free agent for another two years at the time he signed his contract, anyway. The two situations are not exactly alike.

The landscape of Major League Baseball also seems to have changed since Stanton signed his deal. Teams have been more hesitant to sign players to contracts that pay them top dollar into their late-30s, and we could be seeing that trend continue with Machado and Bryce Harper.

Machado is said to have a preference of where he signs, but he needs at least one other team to get involved in the bidding if Chicago’s offer is the only one he has. While $25 million per year is nothing to scoff at, he almost certainly wants at least a 10-year contract.

Phillies reportedly confident they will sign Bryce Harper or Manny Machado

The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to spend big this offseason and have been linked to both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, and it sounds like they would be greatly disappointed if they somehow came away with neither free agent slugger.

Sources told Matt Gelb of The Athletic that the Phillies are willing to be patient with Harper and Machado and have “gained confidence” they will be able to sign one of the two. They are reportedly comfortable with not being overly aggressive because it has seemingly become clear that there are not many competitors who are set on landing Harper and/or Machado. As Gelb phrased it, there is “increasing skepticism about how this can unfold without the Phillies somehow involved.”

There have been rumblings that the Phillies are higher on Harper than Machado, but they continue to pursue both players so they can maintain leverage with their agents. In other words, they want to be able to tell both Harper and Machado that they are not desperate to sign one of them when they can just as easily end up with the other. However, Gelb reports that they have made it clear during negotiations that they have no intentions of signing both players.

Of course, Philly’s reported approach comes with some risk. If they would consider their offseason a failure without signing Harper or Machado, that means they do not want to miss out on both. Any one or two teams like the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees or Washington Nationals could turn up their pursuit of either star player at any moment, and the Phillies could suddenly be left having to overspend. They could also miss out if one or both players chose to take less money to sign elsewhere, though that seems more likely with Machado and one particular team than it does with Harper, who is a Scott Boras client.

The White Sox are either not legitimately interested in Machado or are opting to slow-play the situation, but things have a tendency to fall into place quickly during the MLB offseason. When one of Harper or Machado signs, the other could be right behind him. That is something the Phillies are undoubtedly taking into consideration.

Report: White Sox have ‘not budged’ off 7-year offer for Manny Machado

The Chicago White Sox are one of the teams that remain in on possibly signing Manny Machado, but there are conflicting reports about whether or not they are willing to offer the free agent slugger a long enough contract.

A report from earlier in the month indicated the White Sox are not willing to offer Machado or Bryce Harper longer than a seven-year deal, and both players are said to be looking for at least 10. Then on Sunday, ESPN’s Jeff Passan cited sources who claim Chicago has offered Machado an eight-year deal and may be willing to go longer.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the White Sox have not upped their offer — at least yet.

The Chicago #Whitesox, who made their 7-year offer to Manny Machado nearly two weeks ago, have not revised their offer as of this morning. So far, still have not budged in their stance.

— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 14, 2019

The White Sox probably know they don’t have a ton of competition for Machado at this point. The Philadelphia Phillies are looking to spend big money, but they may be turning their focus to Harper after they recently met with him. In reality, there may be only one other team competing with the White Sox to sign Machado.

Report: White Sox have offered Manny Machado an eight-year deal

The Chicago White Sox are serious about their pursuit of this winter’s top free agent prizes.

ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported on Sunday that the Sox have offered star infielder Manny Machado an eight-year deal and may be compelled to go even longer. Passan also adds that Machado remains engaged with the Philadelphia Phillies and that an unnamed third team is in the mix as well.

The four-time All-Star Machado, who hit .297 last season with 37 homers and 107 RBIs, will be 27 in July. With an eight-year offer on the table, that means the White Sox are willing to commit to him all the way through his mid-30s.

Chicago is coming off a 100-loss 2018 campaign, but giving that many years to Machado would certainly be a big splash (and a big change of position on their part if you believe some previous reports from earlier this month).

Report: Manny Machado, Yankees have had little or no contact since meeting

There has been a lot of talk about Manny Machado preferring to sign with the New York Yankees and potentially taking less money to do so, but that would require the Bronx Bombers making him an honest offer. At this point, that hardly seems like a given.

Machado is said to be seeking somewhere in the neighborhood of $300 million, and there has been no indication that the Yankees are willing to go that high. It has been more than three weeks since Machado met with the Yanks in New York, and Jack Curry of the YES Network reports that there has been barely any communication between the two sides over that period.

I don't think the Yankees will stand up and publicly say they're out on Machado, but they're making moves that are indicating that is the case. There's been scant contact between the sides since Machado met with them.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 11, 2019

In November, I asked Cashman if the Yankees would make "splashy moves" this off-season and he said they would rather make smart and savvy moves. That answer and additional reporting is why I've always thought a marriage between Machado and the Yankees was unlikely.

— Jack Curry (@JackCurryYES) January 11, 2019

It seems like one of two things is happening with the Yankees and Machado — either they don’t think there is another team willing to meet his contract demands and are opting to slow-play things, or they simply don’t want to sign him. Whatever the case, we have heard numerous reports that they are not aggressively pursuing him.

Unless a mystery team emerges, it sounds like Machado does not have many suitors. If the Phillies end up signing Bryce Harper and the Chicago White Sox truly aren’t willing to make a substantial offer, Machado may not be in a great position of strength. That probably has a lot to do with the way the Yankees are handling negotiations with him.

Yankees reportedly have not made formal offer to Manny Machado

Manny Machado’s market does not appear to be developing very rapidly.

According to Jon Heyman of Fancred, neither the Chicago White Sox or Philadelphia Phillies have met Machado’s $300 million asking price. What’s more, the New York Yankees, his preferred destination, have yet to even make a formal offer.

Word is, Machado camp still seeking 300M plus. ChiSox, Phillies not believed to be close to that ask (though exact current offers aren’t known, and can change). Meanwhile, Yanks, believed to be preferred destination, have yet to make official offer. Still no word of mystery team.

— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) January 9, 2019

It further backs up previous reporting that the Yankees just aren’t aggressively pursuing Machado. They’ve been viewed as favorites all along, but if this talk is true, they’re not acting like they’re close to ponying up the money it would take to bring in the free agent infielder.

Troy Tulowitzki wants Yankees to sign Manny Machado

The New York Yankees signed Troy Tulowitzki with the intention of playing him at shortstop while Didi Gregorius is out with an injury, which might be the entire first half of the season. That plan could change if they end up landing Manny Machado, but Tulowitzki is still rooting for it to happen.

Tulowitzki was asked on Monday for his thoughts on Machado potentially signing with the Yankees, and he said it would be “awesome.”

Current NYY SS Troy Tulowitzki, w/ Machado still looming in free agency: 'I signed up to be a Yankee because I want to play w/ the best players, so if Manny’s one of those guys, I think that would be awesome…so whatever happens happens & I’ll be ready to play' when camp begins.

— Pete Caldera (@pcaldera) January 7, 2019

If New York does sign Machado, there’s a possibility third baseman Miguel Andujar would be traded. That likely means the plan with Tulowitzki would remain unchanged, though it’s no surprise he doesn’t seem concerned about it.

The Toronto Blue Jays still owe Tulowitzki an absurd amount of money, and his top priority now is winning a World Series. He’s eventually going to be more of a utility infielder when Gregorius returns from Tommy John surgery, so the plan remains the same with or without Machado in the mix.