We have a new insider on the hotstove. Marcus Stroman is in the mix giving his predictions as to where one of the biggest free agents will end up.

The first thing that jumped out to me was Stroman’s incredibly generous description of the Orioles, whom you can apparently never sleep on. That’s a very kind thing to say about the team who finished 2018 with a whopping 47 wins.

Anyways, while Stroman does go on to say that this is just his opinion and he doesn’t have any sources telling him Machado to the Yankees is a done deal, this does seem inevitable.

Bob Nightendale, who is frequently wrong about the things he says (like when he got us all hot and bothered about Edwin Encarnacion being dealt to the Tampa Bay Rays, which, holy fuck, would have been a nightmare) has claimed that the Yankees are enamoured with Machado.

I mean, the fit does seem perfect. The Yankees are ready to spend this off-season and, while many have been predicting for quite some time that Bryce Harper would end up wearing pinstripes, their outfield is already packed out. The infield is a more sensible place to invest money, especially given Didi Gregorious is going to miss a good chunk of the 2019 season after having Tommy John surgery. If they bring Machado into the mix, then Gregorious or somebody else in the infield like Miguel Andujar could become trade bait for another good pitcher.

I’m certainly a lot less excited about being in the American League East than Stroman is, though I do appreciate his competitiveness.