Andy Martino, SNY.tv | Twitter |

It's come to this: The final lingering hope for Yankee fans who want free agent Manny Machado is that Brian Cashman will pull one of his stealth strikes, swoop in with a late offer and shock us all with news out of nowhere.

At this point, that's probably the only way Machado becomes a Yankee.

The Yanks haven't engaged Machado's camp much in the new year, according to multiple major league sources. Plus, they haven't made an offer yet. Plus, they signed another guy and told him that he was their shortstop. Plus, as we reported way back in October, they've been lukewarm in Machado's free agency all along.

Put all that together, and it's enough to make a fan lose all hope that their team will land the All-Star infielder. On Wednesday evening, journalist Hector Gomez reinforced that sense by reporting that the Machado sweepstakes was down to the Phillies and White Sox. That was news to the Yankees, but they're barely pursuing him at this point anyway.

But the Yankees being the Yankees, the industry remains skeptical that Cashman will remain so blase about Machado. Rivals believe him about Bryce Harper, and expect Harper to return to Washington.

With Machado, it's hard for many folks to imagine that the Yankees won't eventually turn up their pursuit. Cashman, after all, is known for holding his offer until the last moment, and then doing what's required to land his target quickly. And the GM did try to trade for Machado twice in the past 12 months.

There's obviously a significant difference between trading for a rental and signing a player to a contract of seven years or more, especially when you already have Giancarlo Stanton's megadeal on the books. This looks to be going one way, and it's not toward Machado in pinstripes.

But let's wait until he signs a contract with another team before we're convinced.

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