Yankees meet with free agent Manny Machado; now what?

In traditional fashion, the media made a big deal of the Yankees meeting with Manny Machado lasting only 90 minutes. But we mustn’t forget, the pinstripes sell themselves.

On Wednesday, Manny Machado made stop No. 2 on his free-agent tour of potential suitors — meeting with representatives from the Yankees for an hour and a half.

Naturally, the Twittersphere was quick to jump to conclusions, that Machado’s first stop in Chicago with the White Sox lasted multiple hours, including an overnight stay in the Windy City.

For clarification’s sake, Machado has already played at the new Yankee Stadium 45 times in his career. So aside from speaking directly with GM Brian Cashman, manager Aaron Boone and veteran clubhouse leader, C.C. Sabathia — the four-time All-Star was given a grand tour of the facilities and got to see himself on the scoreboard, dressed in a Yankee hat and jersey.

Two smaller adjacent scoreboards even read, “Yankees Welcome Manny & Yainee.”

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The bottom line is that Machado spent the better part of seven seasons playing the Yanks 18 times per year. Though his attitude during the 2018 postseason may suggest otherwise, he’s well aware what it’ll take to play for the most successful franchise in professional sports.

While no one knows for sure, it’s highly unlikely that contractual figures were exchanged. After all, both the Yankees and Machado’s reps have been vocal as to what each expects should an offer be extended.

However, Jon Heyman reported that Machado and his wife dined with Yankee brass in Manhattan, late Wednesday night.

And although Bob Nightengale tweeted that the Yanks are indeed enamored with Machado, believing “he’s the perfect fit,” Machado will still conclude his trip in Philadelphia on Thursday.

Whether or not Phillies owner, John Middleton, sticks to his word — that his club intends to spend stupidly this winter and thereby blow the Yanks out of the water with an absurd contract, Machado needs to prove to the Yankees that he’s the man for the job; not the other way around.

Besides, New York may already have a contingency plan.

Along with 10 other teams, the Yankees sent scouts on Wednesday to take a look at five-time All-Star, Troy Tulowitzki. Tulo, the career .290 hitter across 12 big league seasons took batting practice and fielded grounders at his alma mater, Long Beach State University.

According to Yahoo’s Tim Brown, Tulowitzki passed every test and “looked light on his feet.” Following the workout, the shortstop that once grew up idolizing Derek Jeter had this to say:

“I think I needed to get myself right, mentally and physically,” Tulowitzki said. “I took a year off to get myself right. I’m looking forward to playing the game I love.”