Chicago White Sox MLB Trade Rumors: The Team Is the Most Aggressive Suitor for Manny Machado
The Chicago White Sox seem to have their sights locked onto the Baltimore Orioles' third baseman/shortstop Manny Machado.
According to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal, the White Sox are the most aggressive suitor for Machado, and he added that top pitching prospects Michael Kopech and Lucas Giolito may be included in the package for the All-Star infielder.
For White Sox fans, this deal may not make much sense since they will be sending their top prospects for a player who is slated to become a free agent in the 2018 offseason. However, Rosenthal has noted that the White Sox are looking to sign him to a long-term deal before he hits the open market.
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Still, the team is years away from contention so they will have a difficult time convincing him to stay. It should also be noted that he's likely going to earn more if he becomes a free agent.
"Players who hit free agency tend to get paid more than players who agree to extensions. It's easy to figure out why that's the case. Players are more likely to receive more money when 30 teams are bidding against each other, as opposed to limiting the bidding to just one club," Chris Cwik said in his column for Big League Stew.
"Let's say Machado just loves Chicago and completely buys into the team's future. Even then, players like him don't pass on free agency," he added.
As mentioned by Rosenthal, another option is to acquire Machado and then send him to a team like the New York Yankees for a much better return. Well, the Orioles won't be happy if the White Sox send Machado to their American League East rivals, but they can't do anything about it if they have already shipped him to Chicago.
In any case, the White Sox appear to be the frontrunners for Machado at the moment.
