Will Yankees sign Manny Machado? Takeaways from Hal Steinbrenner, Brian Cashman

Posted October 13, 2018 at 05:00 AM | Updated October 13, 2018 at 05:01 AM

By Brendan Kuty | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Divisional Round - Atlanta Braves v Los Angeles Dodgers - Game One

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Will the Yankees go after Manny Machado?

Clearly, Machado fits the Yankees now more than ever, with Didi Gregorius missing at least half the season thanks to Tommy John surgery. The 26-year-old soon-to-be free agent could start at shortstop and slide to third base — and bump Miguel Andujar elsewhere — when Gregorius returns. Steinbrenner was asked about Machado on The Michael Key Show on ESPN radio. Machado is still playing for the Dodgers in the playoffs, so the owner couldn’t talk specifically about him, since rules prohibit members of one team’s front office talking about another player.

But Steinbrenner did say …

“We’re going to leave no stone unturned,” he said. “We’re going to be looking at every single option that comes across my desk, I’m going to be considering. So, I don’t know who that is, or who that isn’t. We haven’t even begun that process yet and it won’t begin for another week or two weeks when we start with these pro scouting meetings.”

Will Yankees exceed luxury tax threshold?

The Yankees finished the 2018 season with a payroll below the $197 million luxury tax threshold, resetting their penalty for going over it for the first time in years. Many are skeptical that Steinbrenner will authorize the Yankees to blow past the mark again, despite the club’s vast financial resources. He didn’t rule it out.

“You’ve heard me say hat a million times,” Steinbrenner told Kay. “We’re going to look at every single person out on that free agent market, once we’ve figure out what our weaknesses are and what we want to focus on, and we’re just going to go player by player.”

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Was Steinbrenner satisfied with Aaron Boone?

Short answer: Yes. Steinbrenner said that though Boone wasn’t perfect, he was learning. Curiously, he said that the decision to fire Joe Girardi was “years in the making,” which was surprising.

“I think he’s as advertised,” Steinbrenner said of Boone. “I think he’s been good. Every manager is going to make mistakes, especially a rookie manager. He’s made some mistakes. The good thing about Aaron is, he admits that he’s made them, and the more important thing, he’s willing to learn, sincerely willing to learn from them. That’s how he’s going to grow. I think overall the players respect him a lot and he’s been great in the clubhouse and he’s made a lot of good decisions. But he’s also made some bad ones. But, again, he’s going to learn.”

Will Sabathia, Gardner return?

Cashman said the Yankees haven’t discussed the fates of any of their free-agents-to-be. They include: Zach Britton, Neil Walker, J.A. Happ, CC Sabathia, Brett Gardner and Andrew McCutchen. Steinbrenner had high praise for Gardner and Sabathia, whom he called “our leaders.”

“CC has been with us forever,” the owner said. “Gardner’s been with us his entire career. They’ve been great leaders in the clubhouse and we’ll just have to see where we’ll end up and what we feel our needs are.”

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