MLB Trade Rumors: Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles Discussed Manny Machado Deal

By Noriel See, Christian Post Contributor Monday, January 22, 2018

The Arizona Diamondbacks, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox have been eyeing Baltimore Orioles third baseman/shortstop Manny Machado since the start of the offseason, but a new club has emerged as a suitor for the three-time All-Star.

According to MLB Network's Jon Morosi, the Cleveland Indians and the Orioles have discussed a potential deal involving Machado last month. However, he has noted that the two sides are no longer actively talking about him.

Of course, nothing is preventing the Indians and Orioles from reviving the trade talks further down the road and Cleveland do have a lot of tradable assets on their roster.

"On the surface, the Indians and Orioles match up well on a Machado trade. Baltimore has only two proven Major League starting pitchers on its roster — Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman — and Cleveland has a surplus of starters," Morosi said in his report.

"Many in the industry believe the Indians are open to trading right-hander Danny Salazar, a talented yet inconsistent starter who has averaged roughly 120 innings pitched over the past two seasons. A trade of Salazar would signal that the Tribe is confident in Mike Clevinger as a full-time starter in 2018," he added.

Machado has posted a 0.259/0.310/0.471 slash line in 156 games with Baltimore last season, and he also recorded 33 home runs, 95 runs batted in, nine stolen bases and 33 doubles in 690 plate appearances.

Since the Indians are unlikely to move Francisco Lindor off shortstop, Machado should get the start at third base if he joins the club and José Ramírez will have to move to second base. This means Jason Kipnis will no longer have an everyday position on the infield and he's likely going to be shipped elsewhere in the coming weeks.