he obviously is available and solves that area of need," Cashman said. "So not going to deny we've had a conversation or two."

Cashman said he and Machado's agent, Dan Lozano, spoke before the winter meetings. Machado is reportedly planning to soon visit the teams that are courting him in free agency.

In terms of the hole the Yankees have in their starting rotation, free agent J.A. Happ remains a serious option. The lefty was added at the trade deadline to bolster the flailing staff heading into the postseason. In 11 starts across the final two months of the regular season, Happ looked like the Yankees' ace, going 7-0 with a 2.69 ERA.

"We'll see if we all match up," Cashman said of talks he has had with Happ's representatives abouta contract.

The focus on Happ has increased since the Yankees added James Paxton to the mix in a trade last month with Seattle and following Patrick Corbin's signing with the Washington Nationals last week.

Expect the Yankees to also be involved in the race for Japanese pitcher Yusei Kikuchi, the 27-year-old who could be even better on the mound than Shohei Ohtani. Teams have until Jan. 2 to negotiate with the lefty, who had a 3.08 ERA and struck out 153 batters in 23 starts for the Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization this season.

"He's somebody worth talking about. Someone that's worth having conversations about potentially landing. Someone that would make our or other rotations better here in Major League Baseball," Cashman said of the pitcher his