Is this going to be the week the White Sox sign Manny Machado? Well, things are certainly heating up, as ESPN's Jeff Passan is reporting that the White Sox have offered Machado an eight-year contract.
As of now it appears as though the White Sox and Phillies are the only two serious suitors for Machado, with the Yankees seemingly not making a major effort to sign him.
Via ESPN.
As the sweepstakes for baseball's best free agents heats up, Manny Machado is sitting on an eight-year offer from the Chicago White Sox and is still engaged with the Philadelphia Phillies while their pursuit of Bryce Harper grew stronger with an in-person meeting in Las Vegas over the weekend, league sources told ESPN.Earlier on Sunday, Bob Nightengale reported that the Phillies were the clear-cut favorites to sign Harper. If that's true and the Phillies do indeed sign the outfielder, then you would think the chances get better for the White Sox to sign Machado. The offer is reportedly worth $250 million.
Passan also points out that there is a "mystery team" in on Machado, but the White Sox are serious in their pursuit and may even go to 10 years on a deal.
Chicago's willingness to offer a deal in the 10-year range has been questioned, as the largest contract in franchise history was Jose Abreu's six-year, $68 million deal. Guaranteeing eight years on Machado illustrates the seriousness of the White Sox in their pursuit, according to sources, and could portend the ability to proffer a decade-long offer -- especially if Philadelphia or the supposed mystery team continues engaging with Machado.Yet, Passan concludes the report by saying that teams aren't inclined to offer $300 million for either Machado or Harper. So, the slow grind of the offseason is shifting gears, but hopefully for the White Sox the third mystery teams doesn't swoop in and take Machado away. You gotta feel pretty good, or at least feel a lot better about Machado to the South Side right now if you're a White Sox fan.
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