Betances vouches for pal Machado
Dellin Betances has played with and against Manny Machado enough to believe the free-agent infielder would fit in well with the Yankees and help them move past the Red Sox in the AL East.
“I have kept up a little bit,’’ Betances said Tuesday of the Machado Saga throughout the postseason and the early days of free agency. “I am hoping we can get him here. He will be a big add for our team. We don’t know how long Didi [Gregorius] will be out for.’’
Betances was at the Polo Grounds Community Center in Harlem to help distribute 600 Thanksgiving turkeys in an event sponsored by The Rosemark Group and aided by Whole Foods, which donated the turkeys.
Betances has played against Machado, a longtime Oriole before being dealt to the Dodgers in July, but playing with him during the 2017 World Baseball Classic for the Dominican Republic provided further insight.
“I am a good friend of his and had a chance to play with him in the Classic and he was a great teammate,’’ said Betances, who first got to know Machado when they faced each other in the minors and continues to exchange text messages with him. “It would be a big add if we added a guy like that.’’
In addition to possibly commanding a $300 million deal, there is the issue of Machado, 28, admitting during the postseason that hustling “wasn’t his cup of tea.’’ He also was accused of dirty play on the basepaths.
Yet Betances hasn’t seen that side of Machado.
“I got a chance to play with him for three weeks and I didn’t see any of that stuff going on. A lot of things get magnified in the playoffs,’’ Betances said. “I have seen him play for quite some time and I don’t think that will be a problem. I have played with him and against him and I think he will be a great addition.’’
Betances, who turns 31 in March, can be a free agent following the 2019 season and was asked if he would be open to signing a multi-year extension to stay with the only organization he has been with since he was an eighth-round pick in the 2006 out of Brooklyn’s Grand Campus High School.
“I let [agent] Jim Murray and my agency handle everything. I have to get ready for the upcoming season and help the team to win,’’ Betances said.