Phillies

Yankees TV Analyst Says Team Believes Phillies Will “Explode Beyond” Its Offer

By Bob Wankel

Published: Dec 21st, 2018 · 8:45 AM EST

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Manny Machado’s three-team flirtation with the White Sox, Yankees, and Phillies is over, and now we strap in and get ready for the roller coaster of endless speculation and guesswork until he mercifully makes his decision. Personally, I do not enjoy roller coasters and they give my tummy the rumbles, but after a bumpy start, this first bit of conjecture about where the negotiations currently stand from YES Network’s Jack Curry glides down my digestive tract like a dose of Pepto-Bismol:

https://twitter.com/MaxWildstein/status/1075912803444084736

First, the bad:

They said the Yankees left Wednesday believing Manny Machado wants to be a Yankee, from the things he said, the things he asked, his body language…

Followed by the good:

Here’s something that’s on the other side of the ledger. The Yankees also in their mind have a number that they would go to. I’ve always felt that Machado would sign with the Yankees, but under their parameters. The Yankees may be willing to stretch to an eighth year, but they believe that the Phillies are going to 10 years, and probably explode beyond the number the Yankees are willing to go. And here’s the question, and I pose this to everybody here, how often does a player leave money on the table? They don’t. And guys, I don’t think this is going to be a small amount of money. I think there’s going to be a sizable difference between what the Yankees offer and what he’s offered elsewhere. And, by the way, as of this afternoon, the Yankees have not made an official offer.

10 years…Explode…sizable difference.

Ah, yes. Give me some of that soothing pink chalky goodness. 

Am I comforted by the idea that the Phillies could, theoretically, offer two or three extra years at what I assume would be somewhere north of an additional $50 million? Yes. It’s hard to imagine Machado leaving that number on the table. Plus, if there’s one thing that we have learned this offseason it’s that we can 100% lock in any report regarding the Phillies’ big spending plans as absolute truth.

Andrew Miller had a number of two-year offers in hand, according to teams pursuing him. He was seeking a third year, though the Cardinals could also have bumped up the AAV on the deal as a separator. Terms aren’t clear, but Miller to Cardinals is as good as done.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) December 21, 2018

Never mind, I don’t feel so good.