The Orioles sure seem like they’re going to trade Manny Machado. It is the Orioles, so we don’t want to say it will definitely happen, but the Machado trade talk has accelerated in a way that Orioles rumors tend not to. Ken Rosenthal, rumor king, has even contributed to the discussion by saying the White Sox — yes, the rebuilding White Sox — appear to be the current favorites for Machado.
Manny Machado will probably be traded, possibly twice
Thursday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at possible Manny Machado trades, as well as the last busy day of the Winter Meetings.
Photo by Joseph Garnett Jr./Getty Images
The White Sox seemingly hope to trade for Machado and negotiate an extension with him, while also allowing him to play shortstop (his original position) in place of Tim Anderson. There is a second possibility here, of course, which is that the White Sox are acquiring Machado now while the Orioles are in a rush to move him so that they have the time between now and the trade deadline to move him to another team for more than they paid for him.
Like, say, the Yankees, the lone team that O’s owner Peter Angelos refuses to trade with despite their wealth of prospects, ability to afford Machado, and desire to take over the world.
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Bob Nightengale tweeted out on Thursday morning that the White Sox’s intention was to hold on to Machado if they successfully trade for him, but let’s also remember that the White Sox used Nightengale to spread misinformation at the trade deadline about which teams were lining up for Todd Frazier and how close their deals were. Nightengale even admitted as much on Twitter afterward, so this isn’t me just dragging the guy: It’s something to remember during these negotiations when you consider he’s getting that info from the White Sox.
The White Sox should have every reason to want to hold on to Machado, but it only makes sense for them to do so if he’s willing to sign an extension as part of the trade. If they can’t sign an extension, then he’s likely to be traded once again, either later this offseason when someone like the Yankees uses all those prospects they haven’t had to use in other trades to pry him loose, or at the trade deadline when the White Sox are even more aware that Machado isn’t signing a pre-free agency deal.
- If you’re looking for Machado trade ideas that still make sense without deep thought, the Cardinals seem the most logical destination. Nothing says the offseason needs to make sense, though!
- The Marlins are no strangers to rebuilds, but you can’t even really call what they’re doing now a rebuild. And that’s why it’s the cruelest teardown they’ve had in a franchise history full of them.
- If the Orioles are trading Machado, it needs to be the start of a full-on rebuild in Baltimore, writes Camden Chat.
- The Cardinals added Marcell Ozuna to their outfield, and did so for a lot less than what Marcell Ozuna should have gone for.
- The A’s acquired Stephen Piscotty from the Cardinals, with St. Louis sending him to the Bay Area so he could be closer to his ailing mother.
- Athletics Nation had written about Piscotty as a risk the A’s should take earlier on, and now they got their wish.
- The Angels added Ian Kinsler to their roster, and now they’re maybe looking to bring Chase Headley aboard, too.
- The Red Sox are one of the teams interested in J.D. Martinez, so Whitney McIntosh gave that the rumor grade treatment.
- Disney purchased a whole lot of Fox’s holdings on Thursday morning, including their regional sports networks. That means ESPN is going to double down on expensive sports deals: Recode tried to figure out why.
- You should be very skeptical of claims the Royals lost $60 million the last two years, writes Royals Review.
- You might be tempted to compare what the White Sox did a year ago to what the Marlins are doing now. The comparison does not work.
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