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The Phillies are starting to show more interest about acquiring Orioles star third baseman Manny Machado, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN Sports.
The Phillies have developed such a level of interest that the Orioles “have been doing their homework” on Philadelphia’s top minor league prospects in case talks progress between the two clubs, Kubatko reports. Among the prospects the Orioles were intrigued by were Sixto Sanchez and Scott Kingery, the Phillies’ No. 2 and 3 prospects, respectively, according to MLBPipeline.com.
Sanchez, who ranks 47th overall among the Top 100 prospects, has a 2.47 ERA and 0.97 WHIP in 40 minor league games. The 19-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic, who can throw a fastball close to 100 mph, moved up to Single-A Advanced Clearwater in August after posting a 5-3 mark with a 2.41 ERA and 0.82 WHIP and holding opponents to a .191 average in 13 starts with Single-A Lakewood.
As for Kingery, he is the No. 1 second base prospect in the minors and ranks 50th overall. The 23-year-old right-handed hitter has slashed 284/.341/.437 in 329 career games. This past season, he hit a combined 26 home runs while playing for Double-A Reading and Triple-A Lehigh Valley.
In addition to these two, the Orioles have mentioned to Kubatko that Phillies shortstop Freddy Galvis could be involved in a deal. Galvis has also drawn interest from the Padres.
However, Kubatko says a deal for Machado — a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner — “would require a 72-hour window for the Phillies to sign Machado to an extension.” After all, Machado is a free agent after this season, and teams would love to have a player of his caliber. Outside of a 259/.310/.471 slash line last year, Machado has been one of the best in the game, hitting over 30 home runs in each of the last three seasons and driving in over 90 runs in each of the last two campaigns.