The Boston Red Sox pursued a trade to acquire Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado this offseason before the Orioles decided not to trade him, and while it appeared to be a foregone conclusion that he would sign with the Yankees as a free agent this winter, that may not be the case anymore.
Baltimore is set to be sellers at the trade deadline given their lackluster 15-33 record and the Orioles have emerged as a serious threat to acquire him before the trade deadline and steal him away from the Yankees, according to For The Win's Ted Berg.
The offseason rumor mill held that the Orioles would be reluctant to deal Machado to a divisional rival like the Yankees or Red Sox. If that’s true, it’s preposterously dumb: Fans are going to have to get used to life without Machado one way or another, there’s nothing the Orioles will be able to do in the offseason to keep him away from the big-spending AL East giants, the surest way to draw people back to the ballpark and the broadcast is to build a winning team, and shutting out competition for Machado’s services could only drive his trade price down.
It says here the Orioles know enough to be willing — if not particularly eager — to engage the Red Sox and Yankees in Machado talks, and Boston lands on the list because it has a few more holes in the lineup that need filling, and, likely, a narrower window of contention. Acquiring Machado would likely mean fewer at-bats for young third baseman Rafael Devers, but adding Machado to a lineup that includes Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez would give the Sox a powerhouse offense.
A number of other teams are also expected to pursue a trade for Machado before the deadline, namely the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, and Philadelphia Phillies, but any deal will only get done if Machado agrees to sign an extension with that team. After all, no one is going to want to meet Baltimore's asking price only to have the All-Star for half a season.
Machado is batting .335 with 15 home runs and 43 RBIs in 48 games so far this season.
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