(670 The Score) White Sox manager Rick Renteria remains bullish on the team's chance to sign star free agent infielder Manny Machado.
"We have just as good a chance as anybody to land him," Renteria said on the Mully & Haugh Show on Thursday morning.
The White Sox have offered Machado a seven-year deal worth $175 million in base salary and which could be worth up to $210 million with incentives, 670 The Score's Bruce Levine has reported. The Phillies are also a serious suitor for Machado, and he's also met with the Yankees.
The White Sox hosted Machado for a visit at Guaranteed Rate Field and in the city on Dec. 17, a meeting in which Renteria played a key role. Renteria had high praise for general manager Rick Hahn and the White Sox front office landing meetings with Machado and fellow star free agent Bryce Harper. The White Sox remain interested in Harper, but it appears the Phillies are the clear front-runner to land him, with the Nationals perhaps lurking as well.
"You got to think what Rick and the front office have done as far as putting us on the map," Renteria said. "Nobody even thought it was even possible that either of these two guys would consider coming here. And nothing has been done in terms of solidifying anything, but at least we put ourselves in a really good spot to potentially land one of them. That's a testament to Rick and everybody in the front office."
Machado, 26, hit .297 with 37 home runs and 107 RBIs last season -- all career-best marks -- while playing for both the Orioles and the Dodgers. He played 147 games at shortstop last season, though he primarily played third base in the first five full seasons of his career.
Regardless of whether Machado choose the White Sox, Renteria has an optimistic outlook.
"All of us are truly striving to get this thing on track in order to win, to say the least," Renteria said. "Our depth (in the organization and farm system) and the players we have, they're real. I know I repeat myself a lot, but they're real. The talent is real. It's just a matter of when they get here and how we put it together and how quickly we put it together."
