The upcoming free-agent class of 2019 has been one of the most highly anticipated classes in a number of years, with the likes of Bryce Harper, Manny Machado and Dallas Keuchel, among others. As MLB teams start to reveal themselves for who they are, whether GM’s deem themselves buyers or sellers, there is always speculation among the media and fans as to who could be traded to other teams who want to bolster their chances of reaching the playoffs.
Today, we’ll take a look at Manny Machado of the Baltimore Orioles. As of this writing, the Orioles are firmly embedded in the AL East basement, have lost eight of their last 10 games, and look ready to be dismantled and fired into the sun. The O’s are an aging team, and their farm system is almost bereft of prospects who legitimately have a chance of reaching the bigs. It would only make sense to trade Machado and start to re-stock their farm system.
Let’s take a look at a few teams who could could make a deal for him:
— The Los Angeles Dodgers: With regular shortstop Corey Seager out for the rest of 2018 with TJ surgery, the Dodgers are in a good position to make a trade with Baltimore for two or three months of Manny. I can’t see LA parting with the likes of Walker Buehler or Alex Verdugo for a “hired gun” of sorts, but Baltimore could easily have their pick of several B or C-rated prospects to help replenish their farm system.
— The Arizona Diamondbacks: The 1st place Dbacks are a very talented team with an excellent second year manager in Torey Luvullo. But they could use a strong bat at short because Nick Ahmed, slogging along with a .211 avg/.261 OBP just isn’t getting it done. I think Baltimore could get the best haul in this deal because Arizona would have reason to keep Manny for the long-term. There are several top prospects in Arizona’s system who the Orioles could make good use of, with the likes of Jon Duplantier, Pavin Smith, Jasrado Chisholm and Taylor Widener. Lastly, acquiring Machado would send a message to Dbacks players, telling them management believes in this team to get to the promised land.
— The Washington Nationals: Wait……what? No, I haven’t been drinking. This might be more of a hired gun situation like the Dodgers, but adding Manny for the stretch run could make for a lethal lineup along side Bryce Harper, Anthony Rendon and rookie Juan Soto. The idea here is to play Machado at short, shift regular shortstop Trea Turner to 2nd base (he does have experience there) and move Howie Kendrick to 1st base, replacing aging Ryan Zimmerman, who isn’t batting his weight (.217/.280/.409). With the lineup the Nats would have, coupled with their pitching, you have the class team of the National League.
The Nationals have a good number of prospects who could be sent to the O’s in return. OF Victor Robles, SS Carter Kieboom and RHP Erick Fedde come to mind.
— The New York Yankees: There is no shortage of folks on my Twitter timeline who think the Yankees should acquire Manny, either now or over the winter when he will be a free-agent. I think that would be foolish, as the Yankees already have their infield set for the next generation (barring injury) with Miguel Andujar, Didi Gregorius, Gleyber Torres and Greg Bird. But yeah, for some folks enough is never enough.
I’ll assess more upcoming free-agents in future articles. 😎
The Titanium Spine 