Yankees may still be on short list for Machado

Manny Machado had just slipped into multiple layers before donning his Orioles uniform on Thursday when he noticed that a sizable crowd had assembled behind him in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium.

After ascertaining that reporters indeed were waiting only for him, the All-Star infielder turned and coolly flashed a sly smile.

“Yeah, I can give you some quotes,” he joked.

The 25-year-old Machado, one of the expected prizes of the 2018 freeagent class, knew to expect as much upon his first appearance in the Bronx this season, especially after Yanks star Aaron Judge had told him — and the media, prompting a tampering reprimand from MLB — that “he’d look good in pinstripes” before a spring training game in March.

My biggest takeaway — as it pertains to the Yankees, anyway — from the four minutes Machado spent mostly dancing around questions before Thursday’s chilly series opener, in which he finished 0-for-4, was that he fully expects to play shortstop with any team he signs with as a free agent.

Keeping him happy is partly why the Orioles granted his wish to return to his original position this year after spending most of the previous six at third base.

“I made the commitment to go to short, so I think moving forward. I would like to stay there,” Machado said. “This is not just a move, like you guys like to say, for money purposes.

“I’m going to get mine. Everybody is going to get theirs. It’s where my heart is, where my heart has always been. It’s where I want to be.”

That certainly will be his prerogative wherever Machado decides to spend the heart of his playing prime as part of a loaded free-agent class next winter, which also potentially could include Bryce Harper and Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw.

Still, what would that thinking mean for incumbent pinstriped shortstop Didi Gregorius, who continues to emerge as the best trade acquisition of GM Brian Cashman’s 20-year tenure atop the front office since he was acquired with the daunting task of replacing Derek Jeter in 2015?

The 28-year-old Gregorius already is building on last year’s 25-homer breakout with an 8-RBI day in Tuesday’s home opener, and he has one more arbitration year remaining before he’d also have to be re-signed to a lucrative extension.

Clearly, having two marquee players wanting to man the same position hasn’t stopped the Yankees before from pursuing the biggest available names on the market, specifically convincing Alex Rodriguez to shift to third base because of Jeter’s presence in 2004 through last winter’s blockbuster addition of Giancarlo Stanton.

Machado notably counts A-Rod, now a trusted advisor to Cashman and owner Hal Steinbrenner, as a childhood idol and a present-day confidant. Either he or Gregorius still would have to switch positions, and it doesn’t sound as if Machado expects it to be him.

“I’ve been coming here for seven years, you know?” Machado said when asked if he enjoys playing in the Bronx. “I like coming here and playing baseball. Who doesn’t? Who doesn’t like to play baseball? Come here, win a couple of games and put yourself in a good situation. So we’ll see where it goes.”

As Judge pointed out last month, Machado — boasting averages of 35 homers and 92 RBI over the previous three seasons — certainly would “look good” in the middle of this already-loaded Yanks lineup, which received its first taste on Wednesday of Stanton, Judge and Gary Sanchez all going deep and straining John Sterling’s vocal chords in the same game.

“It’s just a situation that was blown out of proportion, just how the New York media is,” Machado said of Judge’s quotes from March 15. “He’s a great kid. He meant well. It’s just chit-chat that you mess around with, just how everyone else messes around with everything. It’s just blown out of proportion.”

Of course, Judge was not incorrect in his scouting assessment, nor has Machado dismissed signing on with the Bombers. So this storyline isn’t going away until his decisions are made.

“My future is looking pretty good,” Machado said. “Just got to go out there and stay healthy and play baseball. There’s nothing to it. Just got to put up numbers and try to win games for my team, be the best person I can be out there on the field, do everything possible as a baseball player to contribute to the ball club and take your team to the postseason.”

The Yanks similarly have done everything possible to make more big splashes next winter, paring their payroll comfortably below the $198 million luxury-tax threshold to reset tax burden for upcoming seasons. nd they already have been and will continue to be linked to trade rumors on Machado, despite going forward this year with spring-training acquisition Brandon Drury at third base, with rookie Miguel Andujar earning his first start there on Thursday night.

“Those are things we can’t control. I can control how I work and what I’ve got to do to prepare myself for a season,” Machado said of being linked to the Yankees. “Whatever happened in the offseason was way out of my control. I got ready for this year, did everything I could do to prepare myself. Now, it’s just move on forward and see what happens.”

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