Yankees: Aaron Boone says team is set without Bryce Harper or Manny Machado

We’re just eight days away from pitchers and catchers reporting to Spring Training and Manny Machado and Bryce Harper have yet to sign with new teams. Yankees fans are hoping their front office swoops and sign one of the two but that still seems highly unlikely according to manager Aaron Boone.

Tuesday night Boone was honored at the Thurman Munson Awards Dinner along with Yankees players Didi Gregorius and Miguel Andujar. They all met with local media at the event and Boone essentially put to rest any chance that the Yankees still might sign one of the superstar free agents mentioned above.

Per Brendan Kuty of NJ.com:

"“I think our team is pretty much set,” said Boone. “Obviously, things happen that force Brian and his staff to pivot on certain things but I think it’s safe to assume that we’re going to spring training with the team we expect to have.”"

Boone’s comments aren’t all that surprising because up to this point I’d say the Yankees have had very successful offseason. They’ve upgraded their starting rotation, added on to an already dominant bullpen and improved their middle infield defense to help them make up for the absence of Didi.

As much as Harper or Machado could potentially increase their odds to win a title the Yankees don’t have a need for either given how their roster is currently constructed. They also don’t need to invest $300 plus million on one of them over the next 7-10 years.

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Even though Aaron Judge told TMZ at a Superbowl party this past weekend he’d gladly switch positions to make room for Harper in the outfield the Yanks haven’t shown interest in signing the former MVP. They haven’t all offseason long because they already have six outfielders on their 40-man roster.

If they didn’t trade for Giancarlo Stanton in December of 2017 I think there’s a good chance Harper would be a Yankee right now but it’s not like they’re upset about having Stanton instead. You could also say that had Miguel Andujar not had a breakout rookie season in 2018 that Machado could have been signed this winter instead of or along with Harper.

The Yanks met with Machado earlier this offseason but never made him a formal offer and they don’t seem willing to meet his asking price. They’re confident entering this season with Miggy at third base despite his defensive struggles because of his All-Star caliber bat and team friendly contract that has him under their control through 2023.

Even without Didi who’s expected to miss the majority of the first half of the season, the Yankees will enter spring training with what Boone says is a complete team. From top to bottom it’s one of the best rosters in all of baseball. They have everything they need to put themselves in a position to win the AL East and a 28th World Championship.

Now it’s time to go out there and get the job done.