The Chicago White Sox, in the midst of a decade-long rebuild, are on the footsteps of landing one of Major League Baseball's premier stars.
Quietly putting together one of the more active offseasons thus far, the White Sox have acquired quality veterans to pair alongside a young and competitive core. Two veterans Chicago has brought in, Yonder Alonso and Jon Jay will help improve a team that finished 19 games under .500 but play a much bigger role in the recruitment of Manny Machado.
The widely coveted All-Star has made headlines since entering the league for his attitude and play. Machado's "Hustling isn't my cup of team comments" may have cost him a chance at a $300 million contract but his MVP type of play will net him one of the largest contracts the winter.
Machado has averaged 31 home runs and 90 rbi's in his seven-year career while finishing in the top five in MVP voting twice. Machado, along with Bryce Harper, is a generational type talents and like many other stars, Machado works out with other MLB players.
Machado just so happens to work out with Jay and Alonso, who also happens to be his Brother-in-Law, in Miami during the offseason.
The trio discussed their relationship and desire to stay together in an article for The Players Tribune. Jay specifically details their childhood bond.
"The three of us all come from the similar backgrounds. I've known Yonder since he was 10. And we've both known Manny since he was a young kid coming up,' Jay said. 'We're from the same neighborhoods, the same culture, so it's just natural for us to stick together."
The bond the three share runs deep into their Latin heritage and Alonso has shown a past desire to play together one day.
"We all play on different teams now, but everyone knows we have a special bond. When one of these guys comes to town, my teammates will be like, 'Look out … the Miami crew is here,' Alonso said. 'We’ll pick each other up at the airport! Everybody just knows how it is. Miami guys stick together."
Now that Jay and Alonso both play for the White Sox only one more member of the "Miami Crew" is missing from the south side of Chicago.
The youngest of the bunch, Machado has shown admiration for his older peers.
"As a kid coming up, I’d see Jon and Yonder out there making their mark, and it gave me something to shoot for,' said Machado. 'They set the example. I looked up to those guys."
According to 670 The Score's Bruce Levine, the White Sox knew of the bond the Latin stars shared and used it to persuade Machado to Chicago.
"The White Sox's goal was to make the young couple feel like Chicago would be the ideal place to spend the next decade -- or close to it."
If Chicago strolling out his Brother-in-Law during the teams meeting with the former All-Star was not enough, Alonso shared his thoughts on Machado's impending decision.
"I am very excited about the opportunity the White Sox have given me and my family," Alonso said. "We understand (Machado) will be meeting with other teams. We are definitely very close. We live three blocks away from each other (in Miami). I think it would be very, very nice to be neighbors on the south side of Chicago. I know he is very excited for me. His whole family is excited for me. We feel like it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. He will do what's best for his family. We are a very tight family. We obviously would like to play alongside each other in the future."
The White Sox have made a formal eight-year offer to Machado as of January 13th, according to ESPN's Jeff Passan. While there is no specific dollar amount, USA Today's Bob Nightengale suggests it is “likely closer to $200 million than $300 million” in total value.
Seeing Machado in a White Sox jersey could be a long shot, but the team has pulled out all the stops to coerce the star free agent. It is also worth noting Fancred’s Jon Heyman characterizes Chicago as a “long shot” for Harper, perhaps further accentuating that Chicago is more focused on Machado.
Manny Machado is Chicago's main priority this offseason. Although, the White Sox' presentation reportedly “impressed Harper more than he anticipated," Chicago seems willing to let Harper play elsewhere if it means persuading Machado to play in the black and white pinstripes.
The New Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies have also made an offer to Machado with Philadelphia expected to make him a second offer this week, on top of their already submitted "preliminary offer," according to NBC Sports Philadelphia's Jim Salisbury.
Philadelphia is also in the running for Bryce Harper and is said to be more interested in the former MVP outfielder giving the Yankees and White Sox an edge in the pursuit for Machado.
According to Bruce Levine of 670 The Score in Chicago, Machado is expected to sign "within the week." Levine also reported the "momentum is building" in favor of the White Sox.
Machado is coming off a 2018 campaign that saw him maintain a .297 batting average while slugging 37 home runs and driving in 107 runs-all career highs.
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