Yankees Rumors: Club ‘lukewarm’ on idea of signing Manny Machado

The 2018 MLB season is finally over. Unfortunately, it ended with the Red Sox winning a championship. Now our attention turns to the Yankees bettering themselves before spring, which sounds like Manny Machado won’t be part of.

How much damage did Manny Machado do to his already fragile reputation this postseason? A whole lot. So much so that Andy Martino of SNY.com reports that the Yankees no longer consider the four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner a must-have this winter.

The baseball operations and scouting departments, which spent most of last week meeting to plot an offseason strategy, was not impressed by Machado’s postseason antics, and are now “lukewarm” on pursuing the former Oriole and Dodger, according to major league sources.But as the team watched this postseason, and weighed it against what they already feared about Machado — that he didn’t always run out ground balls, that opponents thought he was a dirty player — they became even more wary of committing to him for the better part of a decade.

Machado, who most figured would rival fellow free agent Bryce Harper in terms of a gargantuan contract, will now be forced to deal with the fallout of his uninspiring playoff-run.

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Looking at the numbers alone, Machado’s bat really only showed up in the NLCS versus the Brewers. During the seven-game series, Machado went 8-for-27 (.296 BA) with five runs scored, one home run, three RBIs and an excellent .367 OBP.

Despite going 3-for-17 against the Braves in the ALDS against, Machado put up a .588 slugging percentage, thanks in part to his two homers and six RBIs.

However, the World Series was a different type of animal for the 26-year-old shortstop. Across five highly-scrutinized games (his own doing), Machado went 4-for-22 with no home runs, three RBIs and just four total bases.

Perhaps his struggles when the lights were brightest were caused by his calamity of October indiscretions.

What began when Machado failed to run out a ground ball — later saying he’ll never be “Johnny Hustle,” only escalated when he stepped on a pair of first basemen (the second one on World Series MVP Steve Pearce, at least look unintentional). And of course, there was that moment in Game 4 when he watched what he thought was a sure home run turn into a long single.

As Martino mentions in his piece, the Yankees will still monitor the market for Machado, but you have to wonder what the Bombers’ bail-out point will be dollars and cents wise.

With Didi Gregorius set to miss most of next season following Tommy John surgery — a year before he becomes a free agent, will general manager Brian Cashman take the gigantic risk on Machado’s personality (not his ability to produce stats) for the next seven or eight years? Mixing in Machado with a core of young players that could use someone that leads by example is a risky proposition.

It’s a monumental decision, one that could change the course of the Yanks for better or worse, for the foreseeable future. Regardless, when right, Machado is an MVP candidate and if the Yanks pass on him, some other club won’t — be it the Phillies, Cubs or even a return to the Dodgers.