White Sox signing of Jon Jay justifies pursuit of Manny Machado
The White Sox signed Jon Jay to not only improve the veteran and outfield leadership, but to take a closer step towards signing Manny Machado.
According to Bob Nightengale, the Chicago White Sox made a deal with Jon Jay last night. The deal is for one year and is worth $4 Million.
The #Whitesox have agreement with free agent outfielder Jon Jay. He must complete physical for it to become official. So the Sox now have Manny Machado’s brother in law, Yonder Alonso, and close friend, Jay, on the team as they have offer on table for Machado.
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) January 8, 2019
After making a significant addition to their bullpen, the White Sox went after Jon Jay. The White Sox get the much needed outfield depth, but they also add a veteran prensence in the locker room. According to statista.com, the White Sox are the lowest in average age out of any team in the majors. Their average age is 26.2.
With the signing, the White Sox also look to improve their chances of signing the top free agent Manny Machado. The White Sox have made their official offer to Machado and are waiting to see what Machado decides. They first signed Yonder Alonso, who is Machado’s brother-in-law. They then signed Jay, who works out with both Machado and Alonso during the offseason according to Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic.
If #WhiteSox complete deal for Jon Jay, it might be another step in their recruitment of Manny Machado. Jay, Machado and Machado’s brother-in-law Yonder Alonso train together in Miami in the off-season. Each wrote about it for The Players’ Tribune in 2017: https://t.co/MSyUwSm8dM
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 8, 2019
Rosenthal appeared on MLB Network this morning and discussed the deal for both Jay and Herrera.
"Money is going to rule this thing first and foremost. But, all things being equal, maybe Manny wants to play with these guys he's worked out with for so many years." - @Ken_Rosenthal #MLBNHotStove #WhiteSox pic.twitter.com/ksPNApcA5H
— MLB Network (@MLBNetwork) January 8, 2019
Now unfortunately this deal with Jay will not guarantee that the White Sox land Manny Machado, but what it does do is increase their chances. As Rosenthal alluded to, it does not guarantee anything with Machado, but with this signing and the trade accusation of Yonder Alonso, the White Sox are making an all out push to get their guy. If the White Sox do land Machado, then I would expect him to play third base, because both shortstop and second base are led by Tim Anderson and Yoan Moncada.
Manny Machado leaning towards White Sox?. dark. Next
If the White Sox end up signing Manny Machado, then their team has improved significantly on the infield and as a team overall, but there still maybe more additions that need to be done. Several more bullpen arms and outfield depth is still needed for this team to eventually start competing again. With that in mind, it’s only a matter of time until their young prospects in Eloy Jimenez, Luis Robert, and Zach Collins.