The Baltimore Orioles were expected to listen to teams interested in star infielder Manny Machado. On Monday, they took that a step further, asking for offers.
With Baltimore Orioles superstar Manny Machado under team control for one more years, the team is at a crossroads. Baltimore can either attempt to retain their top infielder and sign him to a long term extension, or trade Machado while he would have a full season of control.
At this point, the Orioles are taking that second path. According to Ken Rosenthal at The Atlantic, Baltimore has begun shopping their star. It is also interesting to note that the Orioles are marketing Machado as an ‘infielder’ instead of a third baseman, as he reportedly wants to return to short for a new team.
For a team interested in acquiring Machado, this may be the perfect time to make a deal. Although he hit 33 homers, he set career lows with a .254 batting average and a .310 on base percentage. Those numbers were skewed by a terrible start to the season, as Machado had an anemic .205/.286/.405 batting line at the end of May.
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From that point, however, Machado looked like the superstar he had become. Despite slowing down in September, Machado produced a .284/.322/.502 batting line, slugging 23 homers and stealing seven bases. That type of production is what any team acquiring the Orioles third baseman would be looking for.
The timing is also right for both sides to make a deal. For the Orioles, by trading Machado now, they can expand the pool of potentially interested teams. Virtually everyone thinks they are a contender before the games are actually played. And, landing a talent like Machado can take a team from a borderline postseason team to a legitimate contender.
For those teams that are interested in Machado, there is the possibility of having more than one year of control. By acquiring Machado before the start of the season, that team would be able to extend a qualifying offer at the end of the season. Although he likely would not accept the offer, pending a disastrous 2018 campaign, it would be a way for that new franchise to get a prospect back should he bolt elsewhere.
The Baltimore Orioles are shopping Manny Machado. Let the rumor mill begin!