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Why Yankees were right to pass on Manny Machado

TAMPA — As if by karmic choreography, the 2019 Yankees full squad took the field en masse for the first time Tuesday just as it was being publicly revealed Manny Machado had reached agreement with the Padres.

The symbolism was hard to ignore. Machado — despite all the expectations and exhortations of the offseason — was not taking the field alongside Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez. Simultaneously, just past noon on Feb. 19, confirmation arrived that no 11-hour transactional Hail Mary would be coming.

Machado’s agreement is for 10 years at $300 million — the largest free-agent deal ever, topping the 10 years at $275 million the Yanks once lavished on Alex Rodriguez. Bryce Harper probably will beat that soon, and the $325 million, 13-year deal Giancarlo Stanton signed with the Marlins in 2015 before he reached free agency is worth more.





The Yanks were never in on Harper and made it clear to Machado’s camp they were never nearing 10 years or the $300 million mandate established. As the seasons pass, we will learn if this is wise. But in real time, I believe the Yankees made the right choice.

Look, there is a voracious segment of Yankees fans who feel the team should get every great player. There is no memory of yesterday and no care about tomorrow — also no appreciation that the rules allow only 25-man rosters.

Last offseason, the Yanks incorporated Stanton’s contract. Next offseason you can imagine they might have to buy a starter such as Chris Sale or Justin Verlander, or need Nolan Arenado should Miguel Andujar not make defensive strides. Not long after they are going to have to face rising prices for Judge, Sanchez, Gleyber Torres, etc.





With those considerations, Hal Steinbrenner established a $220 million-ish season-opening payroll (for luxury-tax purposes). That is what baseball operations had to work with, no matter the arguments made that the owner should have created a higher level. The Yanks projected Didi Gregorius (Tommy John surgery) would miss two or three months and didn’t feel you solve a two-month absence with a record 10-year contract. Plus, they saw fortifying the bullpen and rotation as the biggest issues.

It was a puzzle — address as many areas and deal with as many contingencies for $220 million. Machado could be added for a problem the Yanks might not have — particularly if Andujar makes strides at third — but then subtract one and possibly two from J.A. Happ, Zack Britton and Adam Ottavino and replace them with something inferior. The roster as a whole would be worse.





So, they took a low-risk upside gamble after loving Troy Tulowitzki’s workouts that he could bridge a few months to Gregorius, and then added DJ LeMahieu to create more options/depth. To convince the players to come, the Yanks promised Tulowitzki he would be the shortstop and LeMahieu would play daily. Baseball is a small universe in which reneging on promises has consequences, so once the Yanks gave their word on these matters, the slim Machado chance was gone — well before the news of Tuesday ricocheted around Steinbrenner Field.

“The great thing about going into the offseason was the lineup and team that we had was pretty darn good,” Aaron Judge said when asked about the team not landing Machado and Harper. “We won 100 games. So we weren’t in a position, I felt like, that we needed to go out there and grab too many big pieces. We were already set. … We were in position where we needed to add one or two key guys and bring back a couple of guys to get us over the hump. I feel like we did that. I am excited for our team and excited for who we added.’’





Aaron Boone, Dellin Betances and Brett Gardner echoed this, each stating this roster was better than last year’s. Would it be better still with Machado? Sure, if Steinbrenner were willing to expand to a $250 million-ish payroll. In a world in which the owner also has to project the 2020, 2021, etc., payrolls and 10-year risks, Steinbrenner was not going there, not when he was sprucing a 100-win team rather than overhauling a non-contender.

“I never thought about Harper that much, just because the outfield is kind of loaded,” Betances said. “Machado, I did. I thought there was a possibility. We knew Didi was going to miss about half the season. As a player, you want them all. You want the best of the best. At the same time, [general manager Brian] Cashman has done a tremendous job of adding quality pieces to our club, which already was really good. I love the way we are structured right now.”

The club that took the field under strong sunshine as the world was learning where Machado was actually going can absolutely win a championship. The Yankees handled the puzzle well.





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