MLB Rumors: Manny Machado, Yankees Discuss 'Financial Concepts', Union Still Possible

The Manny Machado sweepstakes have gathered pace 10 days into the New Year but has there been a casualty in the chasing pack? A number of reports suggested that the race has come down to two teams – the Philadelphia Phillies and the Chicago White Sox.

The New York Yankees, according to Dominican Republic reporter Hector Gomez, have dropped out of the race after deciding that they will not offer the record-setting deal Machado and his agent Dan Lozano are after.

But the New York Daily News has refuted that view and are clear that the Yankees are still in the race and they continue to be Machado’s preferred destination at the moment. However, it is clear that the New York franchise will not offer the free agent shortstop the deal he is demanding, as they are looking at a more short-term contract.

The Yankees are yet to make an offer for Machado, but remain keen to sign him. And a source close to the team has informed the publication that reports about them dropping out of the race are untrue. And USA Today's Bob Nightengale has gone as far as to report that the Yankees and Machado have discussed "financial concepts", but an official offer is yet to be made.

Giancarlo Stanton currently holds the record for the largest contract in baseball, which was valued at $325 million over 13-years and the source confirmed that the Yankees will not offer anywhere close to that, stating: “then good luck with that,” talking about Machado’s demand for a deal on the Stanton level.

Machado has always been a fan of the Yankees and is said to prefer a move to the Big Apple over Philadelphia, but it remains to be seen if he will agree to accept a contract of much lower value as the Phillies have already revealed earlier that they could spend a "stupid" amount of money to land their preferred targets this offseason.

The free agent infielder, according to Bruce Levine, is expected to make a decision within the next week and the only offer on the table at the moment is from the White Sox. Machado and his agent are still looking for a deal north of $300 million, but the offer on the table is said to be closer to the $200 million mark.

The 670 The Score reporter seems to point toward the White Sox as the leading contenders at the moment, but the Phillies, who are meeting with Bryce Harper – the other in-demand free agent on Saturday – are said to be more interested in Machado. They could rival any bid the White Sox make, but the latter are hoping that their acquisition of Yonder Alonso – Machado’s brother-in-law – and Jon Jay – the shortstop’s training partner and close friend – will give them an edge when it comes to final negotiations.

The final deal, however, is expected to be in the range of seven to eight years with the value between the $200 and $300 million mark with no team yet yielding to the player's demands. Machado’s decision could see a number of dominoes in the free agency market fall into place, and then all the focus will be on Harper, who is expected to wait until February to make his decision.