Manny Machado Call Up Reactions

The Baltimore Orioles made a surprising announcement last night, calling up 20-year-old shortstop Manny Machado from Double-A. Machado was the top position player in the Orioles’ minor league system and considered by many around the game as a top-ten prospect in all of baseball. Let’s see what people think of the promotion.

Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun believes Machado’s call up may signal former Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds’ last chance with the team. Connolly also notes that the speedy promotion of Machado could signal Baltimore’s willingness to call up top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy later this season.

Baseball America’s Ben Badler believes Machado has the potential to be a star at the major league level, though he cautions that "the immediate expectations just have to be tempered."

Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com spoke to one unnamed general manager who admits that Machado’s "really good," but adds that he believes it’s still "too early to recall him." Heyman adds that Orioles manager Buck Showalter spoke of Machado as the club’s 2013 third baseman, but few expected the move to happen this early.

Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com spoke with Machado’s manager in Double-A, Gary Kendall, who notes the top prospect has been "doing a lot of work" at third base. Kendall expects Machado "to be fine at third with work."

Joel Sherman of The New York Post wonders if the Orioles’ call up of Machado is a sign of inspiration or desperation.

Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports points to the Orioles less-than-impressive run differential and says it’s one of the reasons for Machado’s promotion, noting the club "can’t be lucky forever."

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What are your thoughts on Machado's promotion?

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