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It seems like every day there are more and more teams connected with the Orioles as they shop Manny Machado around the league. It makes a ton of sense that there is a lot of interest in Machado even though he is most likely just a rental. Manny is slashing .314/.385/.574 with 23 home runs through the season’s first 91 games. While the defensive metrics haven’t been particularly kind to his work at shortstop this season, one would think that given his defensive acumen at third would start to translate as he gets used to the position and, in the worst case, he is still a great defensive third baseman.
It looks like one team who has been connected to him a good bit lately is starting to ramp up their pursuit.
sources: yankees have made a strong offer for manny machado. haven't heard they are the favorite, but they are clearly a player at this point. @Ken_Rosenthal said there was "increased" interest from NYY a couple days ago.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 11, 2018
It is too early to call the Yankees favorites in the Machado lottery, but that the two teams are continuing dialogue after New York’s offer certainly means that they are at least strongly in the running. The Yankees have some intriguing arms in their farm system including Justus Sheffield and Chance Adams plus they could feasibly dangle top prospect Estevan Florial if they wanted to make a really strong push.
There are a lot of ramifications for the AL East here. The Orioles would be gaining a substantial prospect haul from a division rival and the Red Sox, who are locked in seemingly mortal bad with the Yankees and Astros for supremacy over the entire league, may be more inclined to make a big move of their own to try to keep pace.
Stay tuned, folks....because this could get really interesting in a hurry.