It sounds like Manny Machado isn’t signing anytime soon

Yankees fans have gotten a little restless waiting for Manny Machado to sign. The top free agent visited teams during the holiday season, with a trip to Yankee Stadium taking place on December 19th. Since then things have gone largely radio silent. Jon Heyman had that Machado would wait until the New Year to decide, while others wondered if actual offers had been exchanged. That’s been about it, though.

In an article this morning in The Athletic (subscription required), Ken Rosenthal explained that the waiting game may drag out noticeably longer. “In fact, Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano, is barely engaging clubs at the moment,” Rosenthal noted, “seemingly taking his time and waiting for a team to jump, according to team executives involved in the negotiations.”

That doesn’t sound like a signing is imminent, does it? It sure seems like Lozano will sit back and let a team come to him. In this market climate, that may take a long while. A game of chicken between a player and club can result in a drawn out stalemate.

Machado’s free agency has held up the offseason to date, both for MLB in general and the Yankees in particular. A Machado decision would allow New York to address other needs, such as filling out the bullpen, trading Sonny Gray, and determining what role Miguel Andujar may play in 2019. It would also (in theory) let other free agents around baseball get their moments. Hopefully things kick into gear soon — for all our sakes.