Yankees Still Interested In Machado After Tulowitzki Signing

TheSportster

By Thomas Hall

Published Jan 2, 2019

The Yankees recently signed Troy Tulowitzki, but that doesn't mean they aren't interested in the hottest free agent on the market, Manny Machado.

Despite the New York Yankees recent signing of Troy Tulowitzki, the team is still reportedly interested in signing Manny Machado.

Late Tuesday night, the Yankees announced their signing of the five-time All-Star. This signing comes at quite a bargain for the Yankees. New York is only paying him $500k this season, due to the Toronto Blue Jays having to pay him his remaining contract after they released him last month.

There are reports that also suggest that even with this signing, the Yankees aren't taking themselves out of the race for Machado. Those reports also suggest that they only signed Tulowitzki because of the reduced salary he was allowed to be paid.

Tulowitzki could easily serve as the backup shortstop to Machado if he were to sign with the Yankees. Machado would serve as the starting shortstop and Tulowitzki could be utilized as a backup around the infield.

He has said in the past that he would only like to be a shortstop, but being on a championship caliber team might change his mind. The 34-year-old would be a major upgrade as the utility player in the infield over Ronald Torreyes, who served as that role last season.

His still All-Star caliber defense is what makes him such a valuable player off the bench. Along with Machado, the duo could make the Yankees not only the best hitting team in the league but one of the best defensive teams as well.

All the signs still point to Machado signing with the Yankees, even after the Tulowitzki signing as well. Not only are there all the reports that he prefers to play with the Yankees. But, there's also the fact that he follows a bunch of the current Yankees' players on Instagram.

This could be Machado's way of teasing to everyone where he is wanting to take his career next. We will also likely find out what his decision is very shortly, because he announced that he would be making a decision after the holidays were over with.

Which suggests that we will truly be able to see if the Tulowitzki signing makes a difference or not to Machado. But one thing is for sure, the Yankees are still very much interested in him even after this signing.

What This Means

The Tulowitzki signing means that even if the Yankees win the Machado sweepstakes, they will still have a very reliable option at shortstop until Didi Gregorius returns. This also means that if the Yankees do get Machado, then they will have an even deeper bench with Tulowitzki.

The Yankees just couldn't resist themselves at the chance of acquiring Tulowitzki at the low price of $500k for this season. Which will make them a greater threat to opposing teams, especially if they also add Machado as well to their team.