MLB Trade Rumors: Should the New York Yankees Go After Manny Machado Now?
Machado can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2018 season
Even in what amounts to a short MLB career, current Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado has already established himself as one of the best in the game.
Machado's defense at the hot corner is top-notch, and he complements that with impressive hitting. It is no exaggeration to say that he has already laid down the foundation for what could end up being a Hall of Fame-caliber career.
That is why, even a year away from unrestricted free agency, analysts are already buzzing about where the talented infielder could spend his prime years.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
In a recent article, MLB.com's Jim Duquette listed some trades that he would like to see happen, and one of those involves Machado.
To be more specific, Duquette proposed a trade that would involve the New York Yankees sending prized infield prospect Gleyber Torres to the Orioles in exchange for Machado.
In making the case for the aforementioned trade, Duquette mentioned that the Orioles need to get something of value back in return for a talented player who may very well leave next year anyway, while the Yankees would finally have someone who can more than capably fill their third base hole.
It is certainly true that the Yankees could use someone to man third base as the somewhaat unexciting Chase Headley is currently their listed starter for that spot, but is one year of Machado really worth giving up Torres?
For those who may not know, Torres is currently regarded as the top prospect in all of baseball, and scouts have described him as someone with the potential to be a star hitter with above average power who can also hold his own pretty well on defense.
Yes, Machado is a star. However, Torres has the potential to be one too, and the Yankees are guaranteed to have him for several seasons if they do not trade or waive him, of course.
While the Yankees may be tempted to make a splash following their surprisingly successful 2017 campaign, the most prudent course of action for the team in this situation would be to hang on to Torres and simply monitor the Machado situation for now.
Doing so could risk the Orioles trading Machado to a different team and having him fall in love with that franchise, subsequently making it impossible for the Yankees to sign him next offseason. Even so, that is just something the Yankees are going to have to accept because the price of trading Torres for him is way too much.
The Yankees have to consider trading Torres for Machado as a no-go, especially since it is possible that they could have both players on the team for the 2019 season.
More news about the latest MLB trade rumors should be made available soon.
