Let’s take a look at what’s cooking on Major League Baseball’s hot stove with Spring Training just a few weeks away.

Manny’s Surprise Suitor Emerges

According to reports, the mystery team or teams vying for Manny Machado‘s services — in addition to the Phillies and White Sox, who have been most heavily linked to the 26-year-old infielder — have ramped up their efforts to sign the 26-year-old free-agent superstar infielder.

Early Friday, Hector Gomez of Z101 Digital (Dominican Republic) spoke with Machado’s father Manuel, who shone an incredibly cryptic light on the situation.

“I believe that the team you will probably less think about,” Mr. Machado said.”Is the one that’s going to sign Manny Machado.”

Later in the day, Jon Heyman of FanCred Sports reported he had “heard there is indeed a mystery team in [the] Manny Derby”, adding that the highest bid the Florida native has received came from the mystery team.

Machado hit .297/.367/.538 with 37 homers, 107 runs batted in, 35 doubles, and a 146 OPS+ rating last season, split between the Baltimore Orioles (96 games) and the Los Angeles Dodgers (66 games).

Reds Reportedly Locked in on Gray

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reporting that the Cincinnati Reds are “making progress in pursuit of [the] Yankees’ Sonny Gray“.

Gray, 29, pitched to a 4.90 ERA over 30 appearances last season (23 starts; 130.1 innings total) with 123 strikeouts, 57 walks, 1.496 WHIP, a 4.17 FIP rating, and an 89 ERA+ rating.

After owning a 3.42 ERA, 3.56 FIP, 1.200 WHIP, and a 2.70 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over the first five seasons of his career with Oakland, the right-hander appeared to lose most, if not all, of his luster after the 2017 midseason trade that sent him to the Yanks. New York general manager Brian Cashman has been shopping Gray practically the entire offseason, to no avail.

As per Rosenthal, Cincinnati’s pitching coach, Derek Johnson, was Gray’s pitching coach at Vanderbilt University, which could entice the 29-year-old to resign with the Reds once he hits free agency after 2019.

Milwaukee and Miley Could Be Headed for Reunion

In his inbox session with Brewers fans, Adam McCalvy of MLB.com confirmed that left-handed starter Wade Miley is “still on the Brewers’ radar”.

“Miley really liked Milwaukee, [Miley’s] agent Tom O’Connell said at the Winter Meetings,” McCalvy wrote. “And Milwaukee loved Miley’s work when he was healthy. The question, however, is cost.”

Miley, 32, pitched to a 2.57 earned-run average with 50 strikeouts, 27 walks, 1.215 WHIP, and a 3.59 fielding independent pitching rating over 16 starts (80.2 innings) for the Brewers last season.

He played out the minor-league deal he signed with Milwaukee last offseason, but after putting up a 159 ERA+ rating, it’s probably a fair assumption that Miley secured himself a substantial raise.

Quick Notes

The Tampa Bay Rays designated right-handed relief pitcher Oliver Drake for assignment to clear room for the now-official signing of outfielder Avisail Garcia to a free-agent deal.

Drake, 32, pitched for five MLB teams last season (Milwaukee, Cleveland, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto, and Minnesota), owning a 5.29 ERA, 1.448 WHIP, 3.65 FIP, and a 3.0 strikeouts-to-walks ratio over 44 appearances (47.2 innings).

Right-hander Rob Scahill signed a minor-league contract with the Chicago Cubs, as per Mark Gonzales of the Chicago Tribune. Scahill, 31, has a career 3.85 ERA over seven MLB seasons. He spent 2018 with the White Sox, pitching to a 5.40 ERA in six relief appearances for Chicago.