Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado is currently set to be part of a loaded free agency class following the 2018 MLB season and the New York Yankees have already planned to pursue him. However, he may not be with the Orioles when that time rolls around.
Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe writes that Baltimore may be inclined to trade Machado at some point this offseason or early next season, opting to get a massive haul in return for him rather than letting him leave for nothing in free agency. Should that happen, Cafardo thinks the Yankees will be among the teams clamoring to make a deal for him.
There are two schools of thought. One is the Orioles will seek to deal him in the offseason if they feel they aren't making headway on a new deal. Machado's market could be interesting and could include the Phillies, Braves, Giants, Angels, and Mets. We hesitate on Miami (Machado's hometown) only because if Giancarlo Stanton is still on the Marlins it would be hard to imagine them adding Machado to the payroll. The Yankees could be buyers as well, but they have strong prospects vying for the third base job.
Yankees prospect Gleyber Torres is expected to be the long-term answer at third base for New York, but he underwent Tommy John surgery a few months ago. They explored trading for a player at third base at the deadline but didn't make the move. And, just because they have him doesn't mean the Yankees won't make a big trade for a player of Machado's caliber.
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In 23 games in Triple-A ball, Torres - who is considered one of the top prospects in the sport - was hitting .309 with 16 homers. The Yankees expect to have him back by spring training.
Machado is batting .273 with 32 home runs and 91 RBIs in 134 games this season.
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