White Sox stars say they teamed up to pitch Machado
The Chicago White Sox are deploying everyone they can to try to land Manny Machado.
Discussing the potential addition of the free-agent infielder at SoxFest on Sunday, a few players including Yonder Alonso, Jose Abreu, and Yoan Moncada said they teamed up to pitch the idea to Machado on FaceTime shortly before the festivities began.
"(Machado and I have) been texting ... I FaceTimed earlier when we got introduced, me and Moncada and Abreu, we talked and said hello," Alonso said on the White Sox Talk Podcast at SoxFest, according to NBC Sports Chicago. "Who knows, who knows."
Chicago acquired Alonso, who is Machado's brother-in-law, from the Cleveland Indians in December.
Moncada confirmed he helped make the pitch to Machado during the opening ceremonies at SoxFest:
The White Sox have aggressively pursued Machado for the majority of the offseason, visiting him in December and reportedly offering him a contract valued between $175 million and $250 million. Machado's agent called the reported details "completely wrong."
Along with trading for Alonso, the White Sox also signed Machado's friend and offseason workout buddy Jon Jay at the beginning of January.
Machado is coming off a career year in which he hit 37 home runs and drove in 107 runs. The 26-year-old has also reportedly received interest from the Philadelphia Phillies, New York Yankees, and most recently the San Diego Padres.
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