Yankees wanted Manny Machado in July, but after ‘I don’t hustle’ comment?’ Brian Cashman says …

Manny Machado will be one of the top free agents in this year’s market.

NEW YORK — Did Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado walk and talk his way out of the Yankees making him a big-money offer this coming winter?

Well, first off let’s back up and be totally accurate:

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Machado was jogging not walking to first base on that groundball that he hit to short in Game 2 of the NLCS this week before he made a shocking next-day admittance to The Athletic that “Obviously I’m not going to change” and “I’m not the type of player that’s going to be Johnny Hustle.”

Whoa!

It’ll will be very interesting to see how that issue affects Machado’s market value come November and December when he’s a free agent and chasing the biggest contract in baseball history. Also, out there are accusations of Machado being a dirty player for past actions and his seemingly purpose attempt in Tuesday night’s NLCS Game 4 to trip Milwaukee Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar, which led to MLB fining him on Wednesday.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman’s first interviews since Machado’s (latest) lack of hustle and comments were Wednesday afternoon when he took turns doing lengthy call-in sports radio spots with Mike Francesa on WFAN and Michael Kay on ESPN New York.

Guess what?

Machado’s name never came up once … and for good reason because Cashman and the Yankees would be guilty of tampering talking about Machado before he files for free agency after the World Series.

But Machado’s incident was brought up creatively by Kay at the very end of his interview with Cashman.

Here’s the exchange:

Kay: “One final thing, and I’m going to try to be creative with this because I know you’re a tough when we it comes to this. Would you consider a player, Brian, that comes out and says, ‘I just don’t hustle to first base?’ If it’s somebody of unworldly talent that doesn’t run hard to first base all the time, would that be somebody would to put in their clubhouse?

Cashman paused momentarily, then answered:

“Boy, you’re really good at what you do! You’re trying to Jedi me into answering a question that’s going to put me in the abyss with MLB, so I’m going to have to pass.

Kay: “But you know I’m not talking about a specific player, right Brian?

Cashman chuckled.

Kay: “It was a great effort by me.”

Cashman: “I just wish that we were in a position to be playing still. I guess that’s the best way to end this interview and duck that question altogether.”

So there you have it. Cashman currently is no position to answer, so he didn’t.

However, in a roundabout way, Cashman did seem to admit during his WFAN interview that reports last July were true about the Yanks trying to trade for Machado, who instead was dealt from the Baltimore Orioles to the Dodgers.

When Francesa asked Cashman if he thinks this offseason will be a “major one in terms of moves,” Cashman answered:

“All of the above. For example. We took a run at a big-time player at the trade deadline for instance, that we didn’t get, which was going to be offensive potential guy for us. And then we wound up with a smaller name that no one really knew of, including us, and he turned out to be the most impactful player at the deadline.

It was obvious that Cashman was talking about striking out on Machado and then hitting the jackpot on July 29 in a seemingly minor deal with the St. Louis Cardinals for first baseman Luke Voit, who hit .333 with 14 homers in 39 games for the Yankees.

The guess here is the Yanks pass on Machado, but there will be no decision one way or the other until all possible offseason options are discussed at length next week when the club holds its pro scouting meetings from Oct. 22-24.

The Yankees need at shortstop for the first part of 2019 to fill in for Didi Gregorius, who blew out his throwing elbow in Game 2 of the ALDS on Oct. 6 and had Tommy John surgery on Wednesday. He’s expected to be sidelined until sometime next June, July or August.

If the Yankees sign Machado, he’d play shortstop until Gregorius returns and then move to third base, which would mean a change of position (or offseason trade) for NL Rookie of the Year favorite Miguel Andujar.

“When the meetings take place, we’re going to be in much better position to make recommendations to ownership,” Cashman said during his WFAN interview.

Randy Miller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @RandyJMiller. Find NJ.com on Facebook.