Free agent Manny Machado doesn’t appear any closer to accepting a major league deal these days, but we may be starting to get a better idea of the offers that are on the table — at least when it comes to the White Sox. Héctor Gómez of Z Digital reports that the club proposed an eight-year, $250 million offer to Machado, a full $75 million above the previously (and erroneously) reported seven-year, $175 million deal that was said to be in play. Naturally, neither Machado’s agent nor the White Sox have confirmed the report.
There’s no clear indication that Machado has been leaning toward any particular team of late, though the White Sox, Phillies, and Padres are thought to be among his primary suitors. On Friday, analyst and former general manager Jim Duquette suggested that the Yankees had also extended a seven- to eight-year, $220 million deal to the 26-year-old infielder. He added that “a lot of teams” were in the same range, making the Yankees’ offer somewhat underwhelming, but later walked back all of his statements as pure speculation. While stands to reason that any organization truly invested in bringing the All-Star on board would be mulling over a contract of similar length and price, no one seems to be closing in on the 10-year, $300+ million figure Machado’s camp is reportedly seeking, either.
As for the lack of movement in the free agent market, The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal spoke to several reasons behind the long wait for Machado and fellow free agent Bryce Harper to find a landing spot this winter. He maintained that both players are anticipating future offers north of $300 million, which creates something of a conundrum for teams who, like the White Sox, are unwilling to jump into a fruitless bidding war. Rosenthal also pointed out that while the Padres have been the most transparent in their pursuit of Machado so far, that kind of strategy may work against them if the Phillies or White Sox (or an as-yet undisclosed mystery team) decide to up the ante in the weeks to come.
Free agent infielder Brett Lawrie is returning to the professional baseball circuit on a minor league contract with the Brewers, per an Instagram announcement on Saturday. While the signing has yet to be formally announced, Robert Murray of The Athletic says the deal comes with a club option for 2020 and includes a potential $1 million salary if he makes the big-league roster, which could then reach a ceiling of $7 million with performance bonuses and escalators.
Lawrie broke the news of his own signing in a lengthy post on social media:
The 29-year-old second/third baseman has not set foot in the majors since 2016. After enjoying some of the best years of his career in Toronto, he played back-to-back gigs with the Athletics and White Sox in 2015-16 and spent his last MLB season batting .248/.310/.413 with 12 home runs, seven stolen bases (in 10 chances), and a .723 OPS through 384 PA in Chicago. While he garnered some interest from teams after getting released by the White Sox in the spring of 2017, lingering lower-body discomfort complicated his attempts to secure another contract and effectively kept him off the field and out of a job.
It’s not yet clear whether the Brewers envision Lawrie in a starting role for the 2019 season, though any thought of him displacing Travis Shaw at the hot corner seems ludicrous at this point. Barring any spring training disasters, however, he might still find himself in a backup role to Cory Spangenberg and Hernán Pérez at the keystone.