Report: 3 teams join Phillies, White Sox, Yankees in race for Machado

With baseball's winter meetings set to begin on Sunday, the sweepstakes for free-agent Manny Machado are starting to ramp up.

Along with the Phillies, White Sox, and Yankees, three other teams have joined the mix for Machado and plan to meet with his agent at the winter meetings, a rival executive told The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.

Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York have all been linked to the All-Star shortstop, and with Machado being one of the best available players on the market, it's no surprise to hear other teams are interested.

The 26-year-old had a career year in 2018 with the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers, appearing in 162 games and hitting .297/.367/.538 with 37 home runs and 107 RBIs.

During his seven-year career, Machado has been a statistical juggernaut, though he's also clouded his accomplishments with controversy.

His October comments about hustle drew the ire of many, including Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner, while several dustups during the 2018 postseason led to negative responses from Machado's peers.

Nonetheless, the possibility of him getting offers for 10 years and $300 million has been mentioned during the offseason.