Trade rumor grade: Yankees making a play for Manny Machado?

Besides the Dodgers and Brewers, there haven’t been too many other teams with legitimate plays for the Orioles’ Manny Machado. There have been teams that could be good fits, and teams that had some interest, but LA and Milwaukee seemed to be the only ones trying to make something happen soon. Not anymore though.

The rumor

The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal reports that the Yankees are jumping in the Machado fray and making a play for the Baltimore shortstop. Rosenthal writes,

Sources on Sunday identified the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers as the most serious suitors for Machado, but the Yankees’ farm system likely is strong enough to trump any club’s offer, assuming the Orioles are willing to send him to New York as a rental.

No deal appears close, and both Brian Cashman, the Yankees’ general manager, and Dan Duquette, the Orioles’ executive vice-president of baseball operations, declined comment.

This seems like more of an exploratory set of trade talks than anything, but let’s break it down.

Why the Orioles would trade Machado to the Yankees

This is a fun one, because as recently as a few years ago the answer to this would have been “Never. ever. would they trade Machado to the Yankees. Over Peter Angelos’ dead body would they trade Machado to the Yankees.” The Orioles owner notoriously despises the Yankees and would never give them this kind of leg up. But Angelos just turned 89 on the 4th of July and he’s stepped back from day-to-day operations of the team significantly, leaving his sons John and Lou and VP of baseball operations Brady Anderson to handle management.

So, with that said, it depends on whether Peter would step in to stop a trade like this (probably not) and whether John and Lou share their father’s stubborn insistence of not trading with New York. The latter seems more likely, as when Machado was on the trade block in the offseason the Orioles were rumored to be worried that if they sent him to a National League team, that team would then flip him to the Yankees anyway.

The only situation where this might actually happen — instead of this just being a way for the Yankees to check in on what it would take as they prepare to make a run at Machado in free agency — is if New York opens the vault. Really gives away some prospects or a few major league players or both to sweeten the pot, and lure the Orioles into a deal by offering them enough to plan their future around. More than the Brewers could give them, or even the Dodgers if they raised their offer.

Why the Yankees would trade for Machado

This is an easier one, because Machado is a great player that could help the Yankees battle the Red Sox for the AL East crown and into the postseason if they make a deep run. While his numbers at shortstop (after switching from third base this offseason) aren’t stellar, that’s still a small sample size and he could improve. It’s also reasonable to believe that in a rental situation Machado could be convinced to return to third base (where the Yankees currently have the great young Michael Andujar) for a few months before finding a home at shortstop in free agency.

The Yankees could also eat the remainder of his $16 million contract without too much trouble, and they have the depth to give up prospects, major leaguers, or a mix of both to get their guy if they’re committed to this strategy to boost their postseason prospects. Recent moves like sending solid players Clint Frazier and Brandon Drury to Triple A prove their depth right now. That’s a tailor made situation to take a run at a big star.

A drawback is that spending that capital on a Machado trade — again, when they could just get him in free agency — would leave them without as much to trade for a starting pitcher, something they need way more than another bat right now especially considering Sonny Gray’s last few outings.

Rumor grade

C+. While it’s not outlandish for the Yankees to check on what it would take to get Machado, this seems like just that. A check in. If the Orioles came back and seemed open to the possibility of actually sending Machado to New York then things could get serious, but the Angelos’ insistence on not trading with the Yankees is infamous.

Maybe if this were a less valuable player it would be more realistic, but Machado? When there are other teams out there offering fair packages? It doesn’t track that the Orioles would do it. Once this is a conversation about free agency, that’s a completely different story.