Manny Machado Trade Rumors: All-Star Game To Be Last In Orioles Uniform, Fox Sports Report Says, Dodgers Next
In a move that would be, according to Fox Sports reporter Ken Rosenthal, “virtually unprecedented in All-Star Game history,” Baltimore Orioles four-time All Star shortstop Manny Machado may have played his final game in the uniform of his team — in the All-Star Game itself.
According to Rosenthal and other media reports on Tuesday, the Orioles will trade the 26-year-old Machado on Wednesday, the day after the 89th Midsummer Classic, with the destination expected to be the Los Angeles Dodgers. The deal would not send any Major League players from Los Angeles to Baltimore, with only minor-league prospects being sent in exchange for Machado, Rosenthal reported, making Machado merely a “rental” for the Dodgers, as the shortstop will be eligible to enter the free agent market following the 2018 season.
Machado started at shortstop for the American League in Tuesday’s All-Star Game, going 0-2 with a flyout and a popup, according to the MLB website box score. After Machado came out of the game, Rosenthal asked Macho what he expected to be doing on Wednesday.
“I’m trying to enjoy this off-day tomorrow,” Machado told the Fox Sports field reporter. “I don’t know if I’ll get a call or not, but just trying to go up there, try to enjoy this last off-day and see what happens. But as of now, I haven’t heard anything.”
But the Philadelphia Phillies could also be a possible landing spot for Machado after Tuesday’s game, according to an MLB website report. No deal was in place as the game got underway on Tuesday, according to the report, but one source said that it “would be a major upset” if Machado returned as an Oriole for Friday’s game in Toronto against the Blue Jays.
USA Today reported that the Milwaukee Brewers may also still be in play as a potential trade partner for the Orioles in a Machado deal after the All-Star Game.
But if the trade sends Machado to the Dodgers as Rosenthal reports, the Orioles 2010 first-round draft pick out of Brito Private School in Miami, Florida, would instantly be catapulted from a team that is already on the verge of mathematical elimination to one that has rebounded from a sluggish start to occupy first place in the National League West. The Orioles now sit 39 1/2 games out of first place in the AL East with 67 to play, according to MLB website standings.
The Dodgers, on the other hand, were eight games out and nine games under.500 on May 17, but since then have won 36 while losing just 17 to take over first place on the final day of play before the All-Star break Sunday, BR reports.
