 The feeling I get is that the Yankees are in, in a serious way, on Matty Machado. Now, Brian Caspern has said on this show, on other shows, you know, he's on the radar, I think he's more than on the radar. And I'm not sure that Brian is totally all in on it. It's hard to turn down a player that is that good, but it's an organizational thing as well. And he is somebody that is more than on their radar. He is somebody that they're probably looking at very seriously to sign. And in a way, it makes more sense than Harper, especially with D.D. being out, and probably freeze them up at some point, if they want to, to trade Miguel Andujar for a great pitcher, which is what they really need. But for those that are worried about all the nonsense that comes with Machado, well, I'm sure the Yankees are a little bit worried as well, but he is in the crosshairs. He is somebody that they are seriously considering, and I will, I will go as far as to say this. If they do their due diligence on him, which I'm sure they've done already, and if in fact things check out to their liking, and if Machado does in fact want to play for the Yankees, which is what you hear through the grapevine, then it's going to get done. Unless the price gets so outrageous and somebody jumps in like the Phillies and wants to give them 45 million, maybe the Yankees bow out because they don't think he's worth that. But if you could get them in the low 30s, I think the Yankees are going to sign him. I really do. Now, adding some intrigue to all of this, the owners' meetings are in Atlanta right now. And Ken Davidoff of the New York Post caught up with Yankees' managing general partner, Hal Steinberger. And Ken asked Hal about what everybody would acknowledge were the troubling comments that Machado made to Ken Rosenthal in the athletic about how he's not Johnny Hussle, doesn't run hard to first base all the time. This is what Hal said. If it's a 300 million dollar guy or a 10 million dollar guy, clearly those comments are troubling. But that's really Brian Caspin's job. If we're interested in a player, sit down with him face to face and ask him, where did this come from? What was the context around the entire interview? Was there a point you were trying to make? How do you justify it? Now, this is a money quote from Hal. Because that ain't going to sell where we play baseball. That conversation will happen no matter who it is. Interesting take by Hal. And I think that he's saying the right things. And here's what scares me, though, Don and Peter. If Machado really wants to play for the Yankees, and the Yankees really want Manny Machado, then Manny Machado is going to sit down and go, well, they took that the wrong way. I'm not like that. So he'll plead innocence or ignorance. And then in the 15th game of the year, he's going to jog to first base on the ground, ball of short, he just is. And then what do you do? And then you're stuck. Then you're stuck. So the Yankees have no kit coming if that happens, because what a guy says in your interview with him does not supersede everything that he's done in the six years in the big leagues. He is what we see he is. Well, Buck couldn't change him. Nope, and tried. The Dodgers go to the World Series didn't change him. That didn't change him. Impending free agency and massive wealth didn't change him. So maybe he's honest. When the Yankees sit him down and he says the exact same thing, doubles down on it, and the Yankees decide not to sign them. But what I'm curious about, Michael, is you have information that the Yankees are in, but you admit that Brian Cashman's probably not in that in love with doing it. It sounds like Hal's got his reservations. So where would this all be coming from if the owner of the team and the general manager of the team don't seem to be all in? I think they have their reservations because of what we're talking about, but they also know how freakishly talented the guy is. He is a great player. Right, right, but it doesn't solve your problem. And they need a shortstop. Well, it solves one problem. And when DD comes back and he signs them into a contract, because he's a free agent in 2019, then Machado slides over to third where he's far better defensively than he is as a shortstop, and you have a great left side of the infield for the next five years that you sign DD to a five-year deal. So I think they're all cautious, but I think that's on their wish list. That's not somebody that they're not... I don't even think they're entertaining Harper. That's not even on the list. I mean, they'll do their due diligence, and if it falls out of the sky, Joel Sherman had a very interesting column in the post today. You really want to get involved in two 10-year contracts? That's what you're doing. And you can say, well, they've got all the money in the world. It will hamstring you down the line. You've got nine years left with Stanton, and then it's going to be 10 years with Machado. And in a couple of years, you're going to deal with Sanchez. You're going to have to deal with Judge. Right. All of those guys are going to become free agents. What, are you going to have a $400 million payroll? I mean, you had a 100-win team this year that was probably saddled with 100 because of the loss of Judge. You lost DD. You had some injuries. You might have won even more games. But 100 games is what everybody pretty much aspires to do. Just turned out that the Red Sox won 100 in eight games. But by signing Machado, you're planning an exit strategy for Andrew Har, who was a major contributor to what you were as a team in the regular season, and maybe ushering the end of DD, who has been a major contributor to the last two years, in which you went to a game within the World Series and then getting to the second round of the playoffs last year. So you're bringing in somebody that clearly is a tremendous talent, but it could come at the expense of two really important guys that you've had this year and over the last couple of years in DD and Andrew Har. Both of those guys are probably going to be gone because of this move. I think you keep DD. I'm not sure. So you'd give him a contract too? Yeah, you'd give DD because DD's older than Machado. You give DD probably a four or five-year deal, have him play shortstop, and you're going to tell Machado when you sign him, you're playing shortstop for the first year, and then you move into third base when DD's... Which is something I don't think he really wants to do. But you know what? It's probably better for his long-term baseball career because he's 26 now, but he does have bad knees. He's had knee procedures before. I don't think he's a long-term answer at shortstop. And the analytics tell you he's so much better. He's a platinum glove third baseman. He's not even a gold glove shortstop. The question is, when is enough for this team? When they win the World Series. But the only way to get to win the World Series is to literally make your team an all-star team. There's no version of this in which, like, this year they just got beat. I mean, they couldn't have gone all the way this year. It does seem panicky. If they get Machado, you know, I would say it would seem panicky. And you guys know how I feel about Machado. I think it would seem panicky if DD was healthy. DD not healthy for as long as he might not be healthy, throws a complete wrench into this. Really does. So, I mean, you're answering a DD injury of probably four months in length with an unbelievable player who then becomes a contractual albatross down the line. But maybe they don't worry about that stuff. I thought that stent was overkill last year. But maybe they feel they need this guy. Now, there are things about this that don't work. The fact that he is not a hustling ball player and that's not going to play well in New York. And he's right-handed. The Yankees are overwhelmingly right-handed in a ballpark that's built for left-handed sluggers. But Peter makes the right... Peter's making a great point. It doesn't guarantee you anything. We thought the Stanton guaranteed a championship, but it didn't. It didn't even guarantee a win in the division. But it enhances your chances. Well, everything enhances your chances, Michael. But there was nothing wrong, I think, with the team that you had. It's just that the Red Sox played... had a sixth season of 108 wins. I mean, normally 100 wins is going to win you a division going away and put you in an excellent chance to win a championship. I like Machado a lot. But if he's not going to hustle here, and that's going to be a problem, it makes you think, well, why didn't you just give the 10 years to Cano? I thought we were trying to get away from that. Because Cano was 32. But you thought you're trying to get away from those big long contracts. I don't think that the non-hustling... they did offer Cano $25 million a year, but they didn't want to give him 10 years. This guy's 26. And if you looked at A-Rod's initial contract, when he was 26, that was a great... it turned out to be a great contract for the Texas Rangers and the Yankees. He opted out after the seventh year. The mistake was the second 10-year deal, which was signed when he was 32 years old. You just can't crazily do that. So, both Harper and Machado, you can give a 10-year deal to because of their young age. But it's interesting. You saw what Dellen Patas said yesterday at his event. He texts Machado all the time. He played with him in the World League team. And, you know, he was a great teammate. Didn't see any instance of him being dirty or anything like that. The players would love it. Players just say add people, add people, add stars. I think that the thing that really will be interesting to watch is how, as said over and over on this area, said at the Ken and the New York Post story as well, they still would like to stay under the threshold, which this year is at 207. So, if they sign Machado, let's say Machado's 35 million. I'll just put that number on him. And then you go on and sign Corbin, who might be 25 million. You're going over the threshold. Right. And then you still have to sign Relievers. Because Robertson's gone. So, you got to sign a Reliever. I don't know if you signed Andrew Mill, if you signed Robertson back, whatever the case may be. And then you're going to make a trade for another starter. And he's not going to come for free. So, whether you get a Corey Kluber, or you get the Paxton in Seattle, that's adding money too. Payroll is going to be about 240. And Hal said he doesn't think you have to have a payroll that high. But it does come across as a bit of a panic move. Because again, you won 100 games. And I think this team is presently constituted. It could still make a run at the Red Sox. I agree. They were within a game of going to the World Series two years ago. They had Stanton and technically took a step back. Because that's how baseball is, Michael. It's about meshing. It's about character. It's about hitting in the right situations. It's about pitching in the right situations. It's not a fantasy baseball team where you just get all stars at every position and then collect stats. You know, his lack of hustle. The fact that every Yankee fan that we talked to when there was some rumor that they were going to trade for him last year was like, I don't want this guy. He doesn't hustle. I don't want somebody like that. Isn't that telling, though? The Yankee made a run at him. They tried to acquire him. Now, where would they have put him, right? This one, D.D. was healthy. And Anduar was one of the best players on the team. They would have put him in third because they just weren't in love with Anduar. Defensively. Defensively. Right. Now, in terms of the wish list, every team has a wish list. Now, I'm saying that they're serious about Machado. Doesn't mean they're going to get them. But this is the wish list to everybody. Sign Machado. Sign a free agent picture. And trade for one of the pictures that are available on the market. And signing Machado probably opens up the possibility of trading and do hard. Now you have to deal them with third base until D.D. comes back. Those are wish lists. It doesn't always work out that way. And maybe they had that interview with Machado when he goes, I'm not running hard all the time. That's how I stay healthy. And maybe that turns them off. But at this point, they are very interested in Manning Machado. Not in Harper. So for those that don't want the Machado situation, don't think it's a good idea. Be prepared. It could happen.