Watch: Manny Machado shows up for meeting with White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field

Share

Manny Machado is in town hearing the White Sox pitch.

Our NBC Sports Chicago cameras spotted Machado heading inside Guaranteed Rate Field alongside his wife and his agent.

Take a look at his arrival in the video above.

The White Sox are confident in their future-focused pitch to both Machado and this winter's other mega free agent, Bryce Harper, who the team met with last week in Las Vegas during the Winter Meetings. While other teams might be able to point to stronger current major league rosters, Rick Hahn and his front office believe the attraction of playing alongside Eloy Jimenez, Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease, Luis Robert, Yoan Moncada and others is just as appealing.

The White Sox also have the advantage of being able to offer a massive contract thanks to the financial flexibility achieved during the ongoing rebuilding process. They have almost no long-term financial commitments to speak of. That doesn't mean they'll offer a record-setting number, something ESPN's Buster Olney reported they are hesitant to do. But the aggressive nature with which they've pursued Machado and Harper, two of the game's best players, makes them seem willing to spend and spend big.

According to reports, Machado also has meetings this week with the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies. And there are also "mystery teams" floating around out there. The Phillies are financially positioned similarly to the White Sox, and the Yankees have a loaded major league roster coming off a 100-win season.

But the White Sox will pitch a long-term vision with Machado at the center, the highly touted prospects arriving and growing up alongside him as the team shifts from rebuilding to contending. They might not be able to sell a 2019 playoff contender, but the plan is to have a perennial championship contender in the not too distant future.

Oh, and the White Sox are the only team that can offer Machado the opportunity to play alongside his brother-in-law, the newly acquired Yonder Alonso, for the next two seasons.

Pair all that with the ability to offer big-time bucks, and perhaps the White Sox pitch something Machado likes.

"There’s very bright days ahead," Hahn said last week during the Winter Meetings. "Now again, it might be a year premature in terms of selling this club as a postseason contender, but we’ve spent a lot of time over the last couple of years to put us in a position where we very reasonably, or objectively we have a bright future ahead of us. And we’ve heard from a number of different players about their interest in being part of it, which I don’t think should be surprising.

"There’s been a lot of positive feedback in terms of the long term. It’s funny because when you are talking about a shorter-term deal, like a one- or two-year deal, you are getting a response from a lot of the players like, ‘Hey, we want to be part of the fun times, too. I’ll just do something a little bit longer.’ It can cut both ways.

"Definitely, the general consensus is one of optimism."

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the White Sox easily on your device.
Contact Us