New York Yankees slugger Aaron Judge has been caught openly recruiting Baltimore Orioles phenom Manny Machado to move to the Bronx.
Shame on you, Aaron Judge. You know better than to publicly discuss such a thing.
On Wednesday in Sarasota, Florida, the young New York Yankees slugger spoke openly about Baltimore Orioles phenom Manny Machado, not holding back his wishes about seeing the young third baseman in pinstripes, per Coley Harvey of ESPN.
“Adding him to our lineup that we already got would be something special,” Judge told reporters. “I told him he’d look good in pinstripes.”
Judge told reporters Machado laughed off the recruiting efforts, a note that should be very important for the fans who live and die by crab cakes.
“We talked a little bit, and I just asked him how his offseason was, how everything was going,” Judge said. “I asked him how he liked short and said, ‘You’d look pretty good in pinstripes, too.'”
Forget the Machado to the Yankees conversation that’s been had numerous times over the last year and change. What’s interesting is Judge did the very same thing with Giancarlo Stanton once upon a time—a year ago, to be exact.
And what do you know? Judge was gifted a brand new teammate this offseason.”He’s one heck of a player, and he’s been doing it for quite a few years at the best level,” Judge told reporters.
“He’s one of the best — if not the best — defensive third basemen in the game, and now he’s probably going to be one of the best defensive shortstops. With what he brings on the offensive side of it, he’s the complete package. He’s going to be a happy man when it comes to free agency, and picking where he wants to go.”
Of course, an organization should never discuss another player’s future while still employed by one of the other 29 franchises. This includes players.
Major League Baseball quickly intervened. The Yankees swiftly told baseball they are handling the situation, according to Mike Mazzeo of the New York Daily News.
Aaron Judge pitched Manny Machado on joining the @Yankees next offseason: "He’d look good in pinstripes" https://t.co/pJYtqRBivq pic.twitter.com/iILEegO7Oe
— NY Daily News Sports (@NYDNSports) March 14, 2018
Machado, 25, is a three-time All-Star representing one of the best young bats in the game. His stat-line of 33 home runs and 95 runs batted in while hitting .258 a year ago is considered a major down season. That’s how good the kid is.
He’ll enter free agency once the 2018 season concludes at the ripe age of 26. The only thing left to do is watch the 2018 MLB season unfold.
Will 2019 bring Judge, Stanton and Machado? Twenty-nine other clubs are already shuttering at the thought.
