TAMPA, Fla. _ Aaron Judge wasn't found guilty of tampering by MLB, but his free-agent pitch to Manny Machado did lead to a call from Brian Cashman on Wednesday night, with the GM reiterating the league's "sensitive" stance on the matter.
During their 30-second conversation, Cashman gave Judge a refresher "that MLB's sensitive to that kind of stuff."
"Now I know," Judge said. "It was all new to me. You learn something new every day."
Judge had made his pitch to Machado _ hoping that he'll join the Yankees in 2019 _ before Wednesday's spring training game in Sarasota.
"Adding him to our lineup that we've already got would be something special," Judge said. "I told him he'd look good in pinstripes."
Machado, the Orioles' All-Star shortstop, will be a free agent this offseason, and could command $30 million or more per year on the open market.
After being contacted by the Daily News, MLB issued a statement saying: "We have been in contact with the Yankees. They communicated to us that Mr. Judge's off the cuff comments were not appropriate and not authorized by the club. They will speak to him to make sure this does not happen again."
Asked if he'd get a commission should the Yankees sign Machado, Judge laughed and replied: "I don't think so. I don't think so."
Orioles skipper Buck Showalter laughed off the whole situation Friday.
"I'm just glad they didn't catch Manny recruiting Judge," Showalter joked, per the Baltimore Sun.
According to the MLB rulebook: "To preserve discipline and competition, and to prevent the enticement of players, coaches, managers and umpires, there shall be no negotiations or dealings respecting employment, either present or prospective, between any player, coach or manager and any Major or Minor League Club other than the Club with which the player is under contract ... "
Two years ago, former Red Sox slugger David Ortiz got into hot water when he made public his opinion that Edwin Encarnacion should join Boston after his contract with the Blue Jays was up. Ortiz was not fined but did receive a letter from MLB reminding him to avoid tampering rules. Encarnacion went to the Indians instead.
