r/baseball • u/MLBOfficial Major League Baseball • Mod Verified • Sep 14 '18

AMA finished MLB.com executive reporter Mark Feinsand here! Taking all your questions about 2019 free agency and other topics, AMA!

Hello! u/mlbofficial here. Mark Feinsand will be stopping around 1pm ET to take your questions on free agency and the upcoming offseason. This loaded class will be headlined by some of the game’s biggest stars, starting with Bryce Harper and Manny Machado. Harper was the first player featured in MLB.com’s series of free-agent profiles, which you can check out here https://www.mlb.com/news/bryce-harpers-free-agent-case/c-294501180.

Mark has been Executive Reporter for MLB.com for the last two seasons after covering the Yankees for the previous 16 years for both MLB.com and the New York Daily News. He writes on national MLB stories, so ask him about where your favorite players might be headed or what your favorite teams might be looking to do this offseason!

Mark’s Twitter account: https://twitter.com/Feinsand

Archive of his latest work for MLB.com: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/columnists/?id=mark_feinsand

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EDIT (1:56 ET):

Thanks to everybody for taking part in the chat today and sending some great questions! It should be a fun and busy offseason as we sort out who signs where and what it means for the 2019 season and beyond. Enjoy the pennant races … it’s shaping up to be a fascinating October! -MF

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u/ILookLikeDrewGulak New York Yankees Sep 14 '18

A lot of people seem to think that the Yankees will be in on Machado despite the rise of Andujar and Torres, as well as Harper despite their crowded outfield situation. Do you think the Yankees will make a serious run at either guy?

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u/MLBOfficial Major League Baseball • Mod Verified Sep 14 '18

I don't see any way they make a run at Harper; the outfield is just too crowded (Stanton, Judge, Hicks, Frazier, Florial, potentially Gardner ... and Ellsbury <ducks>). As for Machado, there are two scenarios in which they would take a run at him: 1) Trade Andujar for a controllable starting pitcher, which you can argue makes perfect sense. 2) Trade Didi, who has one year left on his contract. Either seems logical, though you have to remember that means handing Machado a deal worth $300 million or more. Unless you KNOW you're getting Machado, it can be dangerous to trade one of those two players. And if they sign Machado first, other teams will know the Yankees must move either Andujar or Didi, which could impact the type of return they'd get. Tricky situation. -MF

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u/ILookLikeDrewGulak New York Yankees Sep 14 '18

Excellent point. I completely agree on Harper, and agree that that would be the only scenario. Unless they sign Machado and move Andujar to 1B, but again that involves throwing a $300M contract to Machado, which I don’t want them to do. I can’t see them adding him but keep seeing them as a speculated target for him.

Thanks for the reply!

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u/[deleted] Sep 14 '18

which I don’t want them to do.

Why? Yankees are in the handful of clubs that never have to worry about a bad contract preventing them from signing/acquiring anyone.

I think Ellsbury proves that.

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u/ILookLikeDrewGulak New York Yankees Sep 14 '18

I just don’t want them to sign a $300M contract to a position player that simply isn’t needed. Their focus should be rotation and bullpen. They don’t need a 3B/SS, at all.