Skip to content

Machado aware of rumors linking him, Harper to Yankees

Brace Hemmelgarn / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Manny Machado isn't turning a deaf ear to what he's hearing.

The Baltimore Orioles' superstar third baseman is set to hit free agency following the 2018 season, and like Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, there's already been plenty of hearsay about the New York Yankees making a mad dash for the pair's signatures, much to the chagrin of Nationals and Orioles fans.

With the two teams squaring off this weekend at Camden Yards, Machado is already pondering how his eventual reception in the Bronx will go when the Orioles visit the Yankees in late April.

"I'm sure now when we go to New York, it's going to be crazy," he told the New York Post's Kevin Kernan. "I know there is talk about the future and maybe me, Gary (Sanchez) and (Bryce) Harper being together. That's New York. That's what goes on. ... You never know what to expect in this game.

"Those are things you can't control. You can't control what people are going to say, but I can go out there and do what I can to get to that situation and put myself in a good situation for my family to do big things."

Though the rumors will swirl more intensely as he approaches his upcoming free agency, Machado isn't discounting the possibility of staying put in Baltimore. The 24-year-old has spent six major-league seasons there, and added his family's familiarity with the city will heavily affect his eventual decision.

"It's tough," he told Kernan. "I haven’t even thought that far ahead. It's a tough decision. There are so many different variables - family, where you live, moving, all that is hard. I've been here for six years, my wife is comfortable here, I feel comfortable here, it’s kind of hard to leave.

"It's like Miami. I live in Miami in the offseason. That's where I lived my entire life. That's what I'm used to. There is a lot to it. It's something you really can't think forward to because I would drive myself crazy. Anybody would."

Daily Newsletter

Get the latest trending sports news daily in your inbox