Philadelphia Phillies Emerge As One Of The Favorites To Land Manny Machado

Chances are great that Manny Machado will be traded before the MLB non-waiver trade deadline, with the Philadelphia Phillies emerging as one of his potential landing spots. As the trade chatter continues to grow, the Baltimore Orioles star is doing his best to drown out the noise. Nevertheless, the Orioles trading Manny Machado seems imminent.

The Athletic’s Jim Bowden has given the Phillies second-best odds of acquiring Manny Machado in an MLB trade with the Orioles. Bowden suggests that the Phillies are a 5:1 favorites in the potential Machado sweepstakes. Only the Chicago Cubs are listed as having a better chance at getting Manny Machado.

It is still only the end of May, which leaves so much time between now and the July 31 trade deadline before additional suitors for Manny Machado emerge. If the Orioles hurried and agreed to a trade, however, things will change quickly.

The Baltimore Orioles should do what they can to generate interest in a Manny Machado trade sooner rather than later. Aggressively shopping Machado now will drive up the price, giving the Orioles time to ponder each trade proposal carefully before piecing together counteroffers.

What would help the Orioles now is if they can pit the Phillies and Cubs against each other. This way the Orioles will get a gauge on which MLB team will blink first. It can be arguable that the Phillies have the greatest need for Manny Machado and could put forth a strong offer earliest.

Much like the Chicago Cubs, the Philadelphia Phillies have the prospects and major league-ready players to get Manny Machado today.

It was suggested in the Jim Bowden report that the Phillies can offer the Orioles either JP Crawford or Scott Kingery, along with Sixto Sanchez. It should be enough for the Phillies to acquire Manny Machado. The Cubs could enter the Machado trade discussions by starting with offering Addison Russell. Crawford, Kingery, and Russell can help the Baltimore Orioles immediately, as they ease out of the Manny Machado era.

It has been noted that the Orioles prefer pitching in return for Manny Machado. If those trade demands are accurate, that alone could rule out the Cubs in the Manny Machado trade talks. The Cubs want to restock their pitching in the farm system. It could be the Cubs’ preference to only deal from the major league roster.

According to 670 The Score, the Cubs are not planning on offering a lot for a rental player. Manny Machado is a rental player.

As for the Phillies, they may have a greater sense of urgency to reach the postseason. Unlike the Cubs, who have a World Series championship with two additional NLCS berths, the Phillies have not made the playoffs since 2011. Manny Machado would increase the Phillies’ odds of reaching the postseason.

What remains to be seen is if the Baltimore Orioles will trade Manny Machado at all. The organization has a reputation of dealing from a conservative perspective. The odds should have also included the Orioles keeping Machado for the entire season.