Could the Baltimore Orioles look to package Manny Machado and Zach Britton together in a trade?
The Baltimore Orioles have two highly desirable pieces from other clubs in Manny Machado and Zach Britton. Among bats, Machado may be the bottleneck of all the bats in the trade market in that whoever loses out in getting him will move on to other bats.
Could the Baltimore Orioles combine their two biggest trade assets together to get an even better package? It’s entirely possible.
The #Orioles have discussed potentially packaging reliever Zach Britton with Manny Machado to enhance the prospect package they”ll receive from #Dodgers or anyone else
— Bob Nightengale (@BNightengale) July 9, 2018
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For teams like the Los Angeles Dodgers, Milwaukee Brewers and New York Yankees who could go after Machado, why not add Britton into your bullpen mix as well? The Dodgers could use some more depth in their bullpen and Machado would fill a need a shortstop to make them deeper offensively.
The Brewers and Yankees both have excellent bullpens, but could use upgrades in the rotation. With the trade market lacking in starters for the clubs to target, why not deepen the bullpens and or your lineup? Josh Hader with Britton and Corey Knebel for the Brewers can certainly shorten games.
The Yankees already have the best bullpen in the game, but no lefty weapon (sorry Chasen Shreve). Why not add another arm and another huge bat to the offense if they cant get the pitcher they want?
By the way, if you don’t think the Yankees are in with the Baltimore Orioles on Machado there’s this:
Sources: #Yankees showing increased interest in #Orioles’ Machado. https://t.co/Vm58CQmFUc $
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 10, 2018
The Baltimore Orioles should get creative with their deal making. If they can get a better package of prospects for combining Machado and Britton rather than separately then why not do it? It’s just good sense to maximize the value of your assets.
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The center of the trade market will revolve around the Baltimore Orioles. Whether they decide to package Britton and Machado together or do separate deals remains to be seen over the next three weeks. However, the club is facing a decision that will impact their club for the next five years. They must maximize their assets in this crucial time and if it’s Machado and Britton together then so be it.