MLB Rumors: Latest Buzz on Bryce Harper, Manny Machado

The MLB offseason is underway, and free agency will begin in earnest on Saturday, Nov. 3 after the five-day exclusive negotiating period with free agents ends.

With no salary cap in baseball, free agency doesn't move quite as quickly as it does in the NBA or NFL, but the rumor mill should kick into full swing as teams start reaching out to top free agents.

In the meantime, ahead is a look at some of the notable rumors that have trickled out recently:

Bryce Harper 'Not Part of the Plan' for the Yankees

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Despite years of speculation, it's sounding less and less like Bryce Harper will be wearing Yankees pinstripes.

Andy Martino of SNY.tv recently wrote: "As the Yankees wrapped their pro scouting meetings last week and determined a preliminary offseason strategy, a pursuit of free-agent outfielder Bryce Harper was not part of the plan, according to major league sources."

It makes sense given the current roster makeup.

Aaron Judge and Aaron Hicks should return in the starting right field and center field spots, respectively.

Giancarlo Stanton is also back, and while he spent the bulk of his time at DH in his first season with the Yankees, he's a solid defensive outfielder and could see more time with the glove in 2019.

The Yankees also hold a $12.5 million club option on Brett Gardner, and even if it's declined, the team could look to re-sign its longest-tenured player at a lower price point.

Jacoby Ellsbury is also still on the books, and a healthy Clint Frazier is capable of making an impact.

Down on the farm, touted outfield prospect Estevan Florial finished the 2018 season at High-A and could be in the majors by 2020, so not blocking his path could also be on the team's mind.

If they were dead set on adding Harper, they could find a way to make him fit.

That said, it makes perfect sense that the Yankees would be prioritizing other things, especially with a clear need to bolster the starting rotation.

So where will Harper wind up?

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe named the Washington Nationals, Philadelphia Phillies and San Francisco Giants as his three most likely landing spots earlier this month.

Yankees also just 'lukewarm' on Manny Machado

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So if the Yankees aren't planning on making a serious push for Harper, that has to up their odds of signing Manny Machado, right?

Maybe not.

In another article on the team's offseason plans, Martino wrote: "But we are here to tell you that the baseball operations and scouting departments, which spent most of last week meeting to plot an offseason strategy, was not impressed by Machado's postseason antics, and are now "lukewarm" on pursuing the former Oriole and Dodger, according to major league sources."

He added: "As the team watched this postseason, and weighed it against what they already feared about Machado—that he didn't always run out ground balls, that opponents thought he was a dirty player—they became even more wary of committing to him for the better part of a decade."

From a roster standpoint, Machado is also by no means an obvious fit.

Didi Gregorius and Miguel Andujar both played well on the left side of the infield for the Yankees this season.

Granted, Gregorius is a free agent after the 2019 season and Andujar might eventually need to move off the hot corner if his defense doesn't improve, but both players appear to have earned the starting spots going forward.

If the market doesn't unfold as expected, the Yankees could still jump at the chance to get involved, but for now, Machado doesn't appear to be a priority.

Instead, expect the Yankees to be in hot pursuit of top starting pitcher Patrick Corbin, as well as guys like Dallas Keuchel, J.A. Happ and Charlie Morton as they look to fill out the starting rotation behind Luis Severino and Masahiro Tanaka.

Standout reliever David Robertson is also a free agent, which could be reason enough to pursue a late-inning relief arm.

All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted.