MLB Trade Rumors: Tigers’ Michael Fulmer And Orioles’ Manny Machado Likely 2018 Trades, Per ‘Bleacher Report’
With major offseason moves seeming done, now the MLB trade rumors will pick up as the baseball season approaches. With that, there are a good number of players that are considered trade assets for their teams. Among 10 players profiled by Bleacher Report are the Detroit Tigers’ Michael Fulmer and the Baltimore Orioles’ Manny Machado. Although they’re not ranked as the top possible trade assets, each of these players could provide serious upgrades for any roster within the league.
As Bleacher Report‘s Zachary D. Rymer indicated in an article on Thursday, these two players are among his 10 stars “most likely to be traded.” Rymer ranks the 10 players and while neither is at the top of the list, both are featured. Fulmer is at the No. 10 spot on the list, as he is part of a struggling Detroit Tigers team that doesn’t figure to be a contender anytime soon. That said, it could also make a strong case for the Tigers to hold onto him if they aren’t seeing the right sort of return offered. Fulmer won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 2016 and despite elbow surgery, he has looked to be returning to form in Spring Training games.
The Tigers will still have control of their young pitcher through the 2022 season. He was on the block during the offseason, but it appears that no team was giving Al Avila the sort of value he wanted in exchange. That means Fulmer remains part of the Tigers’ plan as they approach the 2018 MLB season. However, this is a team that is clearly looking to rebuild its roster, so a trade involving Fulmer should not come as a surprise this year.
As far as Manny Machado goes, he ranks at No. 4 on the list of “most likely to be traded” this season. The Baltimore Orioles’ slugger has already been linked to the New York Yankees just based on headlines. The story involved New York’s Aaron Judge making an unofficial pitch to Machado while the two were “chatting” during Spring Training. MLB didn’t like the move and sent out a warning and then the Yankees talked to Judge about it.
Still, Machado is amongst the biggest names on the upcoming free agency list, and the Baltimore Orioles realize their situation. They’re a team that was pretty bad last season, finishing in last place in the AL East division. There seems to be little incentive for Machado to remain on the roster after this season if the team has similar results. Based on his $400 million or so price tag, the Orioles will probably want to look at getting some value back rather than simply losing their All-Star slugger.
For those wondering, the player listed as “most likely” to be traded during the 2018 MLB season is Tampa Bay pitcher Chris Archer, as he offers one of the “most club-friendly contracts” in all of baseball and could find a new team as squads look to upgrade their pitching rotations.
