MLB Rumors: Manny Machado Will Play Third Base If 'Contract Is Right'

Free agent shortstop Manny Machado will return to his old position as third baseman provided the money is right according to his longtime coach and mentor Bobby Dickerson.

Machado will be meeting with a number of teams soon as he is expected to command a lucrative $300 million contract in free agency. Among the teams are the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox as well as three other mystery teams.

However, it recently came to light that the Dominican's preference would be a move to the Yankees as per The Athletic’s Jim Bowden.

"The one thing I can tell you that I know, we know about facts... Manny Machado's first choice is the New York Yankees," Bowden said. "So if the Yankees are able to compete and are willing to compete financially for his services, they will be the team that gets Manny Machado."

That is a worry for the Phillies who were expected to make a big splash during the offseason.

There's also the discussions as to whether Machado would even play third base after playing as a shortstop this past season, with Philadelphia having recently acquired Jean Segura for that position. However, Dickerson believes for the right amount of money, Machado would be open to it.

“Manny’s mindset is to be a shortstop. He really wants to play short,” Dickerson told Philly.com. “But I do think for the correct team in the correct situation and the right contract, all those things, he’d be willing to play third. I don’t know this, but I believe it.”

“I think if the contract is right, he would [do it for the Phillies]. It may have to go an extra five million, or more, or whatever to get him out of [shortstop]. But if the contract is right, I think he would go to third.”

If the Yankees are indeed Machado's preference, they will likely play him in his preferred position as shortstop given Didi Gregorius's Tommy John surgery in October. However, previous reports also claimed they were not ready to pay him the $300 million that would more than likely get his signature.

The Phillies have plenty of money on the other hand, and it will be interesting to see if they offer the 26-year-old in excess of $300 million to bring him to Philadelphia rather than the Bronx.

"We're going into this expecting to spend money," Phillies owner John Middleton said last month. "And maybe even be a little bit stupid about it. We just prefer not to be completely stupid. It's exciting to contemplate what we may be able to do this off-season. We know the free agent class this year is really, really good."

Machado is a four-time All-Star and notably hit .297/.367/.538 with 37 home runs, 35 doubles, three triples and 107 RBI during the 2018 season.