Machado dismisses talk of courting
Oriole star says he has recruited also
TAMPA, Fla. — Manny Machado broke his two-day silence on Aaron Judge’s illicit recruiting pitch, calling the Yankees slugger “a great guy” and saying he thought the entire affair was “blown out of proportion.”
Machado, the Orioles’ star shortstop who is a free agent at the end of the season, had ducked reporters in the immediate aftermath of Judge revealing he made an on-field plea to Machado to join the Yankees.
Judge said he told Machado on Wednesday, ‘You’d look good in pinstripes,’ and then volunteered that information to a small group of reporters.
Judge was admonished by Major League Baseball for his comments, with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman delivering the message on MLB’s behalf.
Machado, speaking to Baltimore-area reporters in Port St. Lucie after a spring training game against the Mets on Friday, had only nice things to say about Judge, last year’s AL Rookie of the Year.
“I think he’s a great guy,” Machado said. “He’s a great kid, and he always means well. Everyone always jokes around about a lot of things, and things that we say on the field usually stay on the field. I’ve told a lot of people they’d look good in black and orange (the Orioles’ uniform colors) as well, trying to get guys over here.” ANGELS: In Tempe, Ariz., Shohei Ohtani was rocked for seven runs over 1⅓ innings in his second major league spring training start for Los Angeles, allowing long home runs to Colorado’s Ian Desmond and Nolan Arenado on Friday.
The 23-year-old Japanese twoway star was making his first big league exhibition appearance since Feb. 24, when he pitched 1⅓ innings against Milwaukee and gave up Keon Broxton’s home run leading off the second.
ASTROS: AL MVP Jose Altuve and the World Series champions have agreed to a contract that guarantees him an additional $151 million over five seasons from 2020-24, the Associated Press reports.
REDS: Third baseman Eugenio Suarez agreed to a $66 million, seven-year contract that makes him part of the foundation for Cincinnati’s long-term rebuilding. The deal announced Friday supersedes the $3.75 million, one-year contract the 26-yearold was awarded when he lost his salary arbitration case last month.