The most interesting trade talks going on at the moment involve the Baltimore Orioles browsing through the ten offers they received for Manny Machado. According to the most recent rumors, the two most serious teams are the Chicago White Sox and Arizona Diamondbacks.
The Orioles seem to have narrowed down the market for Machado by making two big demands: That he doesn’t end up playing for the New York Yankees (their AL East rivals) in 2018, and they want two starting-calibre pitchers who are controllable for at least two more years.
While they have received plenty of offers, it seems that owner Peter Angelos doing his best to keep the Yankees away from the 3-time All-Star is making negotiations difficult. But he doesn’t seem to be in any rush, for now. Still, this is Machado’s final year on his current deal ($11.5 million) before he signs what could be the biggest deal in Baseball history, which sounds just like something the Yankees might give him in 2019.
The White Sox, a team that is probably at least two years from contending, could suddenly find themselves thinking about the playoffs with someone like Machado on board. However, if things do go poorly, like they often do in the South Side of Chicago, a trade with the Yankees is certainly on the cards which again, Angelos doesn’t want to see happen in 2018.
The Diamondbacks offer a more realistic option because they made the playoffs last season and are built to contend right now. But finding two pitchers to satisfy the Orioles while keeping their playoff chances intact is going to be difficult for a ball club that isn’t that deep in terms of pitching talent.
Machado, 25, is going to be the big name in the 2018-19 free agency period. A two-time Gold Glove winner, he has batted .280 with an .840 OPS while slinging 105 home runs over the last 3 seasons.