MLB Trade Rumors: Is Now the Time for the Baltimore Orioles to Deal Manny Machado?
Orioles have reportedly received calls from teams inquiring about Machado
After struggling through much of the 2000s, the Baltimore Orioles have turned things around this decade, and third baseman Manny Machado played a huge role in the franchise's resurgence.
Since making his debut back in 2012, Machado has been a fixture in the Orioles' lineup and with good reason.
Machado boasts an All-Star-caliber career slash line of 279/329/476, as seen on Baseball Reference, and when combined with the spectacular brand of defense he plays at third base, it is no stretch to say that he is one of the best players in the Majors.
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Unfortunately for the Orioles, there is a chance that Machado may not be long for the team. He can enter free agency at the end of the 2018 season, and there are rumblings that he could take his thrilling talents elsewhere.
It is a nightmare scenario for a franchise and a fanbase that has fallen in love with the 25-year-old, but things do not necessarily have to turn out that way.
Instead of watching this situation unfold, the Orioles can do something like trading him, for instance.
That scenario is probably hard to digest for Orioles fans but it seems as though the members of the team's front office are at least not dismissing the idea.
In a recent report, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports noted that the Orioles "have received a couple calls of inquiry" related to Machado. Heyman did state that the Orioles are not shopping their current third baseman, although they may listen to proposals.
Understandably, the Orioles would like to keep Machado if possible, but letting this season play out and hoping that he decides to stay just seems like too great of a risk for them to take.
The Orioles do not have a deep farm system at the moment, and they would likely want to address that. They could do so by trading Machado now.
Sure, trading Machado this offseason will significantly hurt the team's chances of making the playoffs next season, but the prospects they could get back in return for him, may help them contend in the not-too-distant future.
Trading Machado is something the Orioles may not want to do, but the move may be the right one for them to make.
