NEW YORK -- Wearing a pair of custom orange shoes that he had made in honor of the Orioles, Manny Machado navigated through the swarm of New York reporters who wanted to know: will he be wearing pinstripes next season?
"Do you like playing at Yankee Stadium?" they asked Machado inside the visiting clubhouse on Thursday. "Do you want to stay at shortstop?"
"I moved over there for a reason," Machado said, reiterating what he's said several times this season regarding his move to short. "I'm going to stick to it.
"This is not a move as you guys like to say, for money purposes. I'm going to get mine, everyone is going to get theirs. [Shortstop is] where my heart is, it's where my heart has always been."
As for the situation this spring in which Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge told Machado, "You'd look pretty good in pinstripes, too," the Orioles All-Star -- who will be eligible for free agency at the end of the season -- brushed it off.
"It's a situation that was blown out of proportion, it's just how New York media is," Machado said. "He's a great kid. He meant well. It was just chit-chatter, like everyone else, just messing around. It was just blown out of proportion."
While Machado was the subject of numerous trade rumors this offseason, the Yankees kept surfacing as potential suitors. He is expected to get a record contract in free agency, though the Bronx as a potential landing spot isn't without its complications as the Yanks currently have a long-term solution at shortstop in Didi Gregorius. They do, however, have an opening at third.
Ultimately, the Orioles didn't get a deal done this offseason for Machado because they didn't like the trade proposals. Still, did the Yankees' interest mean anything to Machado?
"What happened this offseason was way out of my control," Machado said. "I got ready for this year, did everything I could do to get myself ready. Now, we move forward and see what happens."