As we wait for Bryce Harper and Manny Machado to sign, is their preference to be teammates on the New York Yankees?
The week between Christmas and New Year’s is sort of the halftime of the MLB off-season. Teams sort of take this time to figure out where they are at, what they need to do and maybe spend some time with their family. There are plenty of big names left on the free agent market, none bigger than the 26 year old Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. They haven’t decided to sign anywhere yet and it’s still possible they could team up. One place could be their preferred landing area. The New York Yankees.
"So the Dodgers and Yankees could offer shorter deals for large annual values and force Harper/Machado to decide whether they want the long money or an all-but-guaranteed chance to win annually and another shot at free agency at, say, age 30 — younger, if outs are included. Word is neither player particularly likes Philadelphia and both would have preferred the Yankees, who have shown little interest in Harper."
That last sentence is key. They both prefer the New York Yankees.
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GM Brian Cashman called the New York Yankees a fully operational death star earlier this month. Even Darth Vader would agree that adding both would make them the Evil Empire again. Machado would fill a need for the New York Yankees while Didi Gregorius is injured. They could shift Miguel Andujar to first or use him as a trade chip.
As far as the Harper fit, they kept Brett Gardner, they still have Giancarlo Stanton, Aaron Judge, Aaron Hicks, Jacoby Ellsbury and Clint Frazier if healthy. However, Gardner and Hicks are free agents after 2019. The New York Yankees have to think about what kind of deal they would want to give Hicks, who has a history of injury problems, and would be going into his age 30 season? Do they want another Ellsbury on their hands?
Instead, the New York Yankees could sign Harper, use Hicks as trade bait to upgrade their pitching, and go with a combination of Harper, Gardner, Ellsbury and Frazier in centerfield. Their top prospect, Estevan Florial, is a centerfielder, and could be up within the next couple of years.
The New York Yankees have already added James Paxton and re-signed Gardner, J.A. Happ and CC Sabathia. Why not bring two more of the best players in the game and get creative to fill out your pitching staff by using other players as trade chips.
Then the death star would be complete, without the hole for the rebellion to fly into.