Manny Machado is a free agent after the 2018 season, but the Orioles may try to trade him before then. (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — The trajectory of Manny Machado’s Baltimore Orioles career has always appeared clear and obvious, almost from the day in August 2012 when the preternaturally talented kid with the big smile and the big bat showed up at Camden Yards to stay.
The Orioles were never going to have much hope of signing their superstar to a long-term contract extension; in recent years, they haven’t even tried. Nor were the Orioles ever going to seriously consider trading their best player since Cal Ripken for a bunch of prospects, even when that looked like the smart play. Instead, they were destined to milk Machado for every ounce of his ability over the course of the six years before he would reach free agency after 2018, make one last ill-fated stab at re-signing him, then watch him walk away.
But something has changed this week, and it is enough to have sent the baseball industry into the sort of feeding frenzy that only accompanies the sudden and unexpected availability of a game-changing talent: The Orioles, for the first time, are talking and acting as if they are prepared to trade their 25-year-old franchise cornerstone one season before he hits free agency.
“We’re going to continue to explore the market and see where it takes us,” Orioles General Manager Dan Duquette said Tuesday at baseball’s annual winter meetings, when asked specifically about trade talks involving Machado.
[Could Jake Arrieta be the latest Scott Boras client headed to the Nationals?]
That may not sound like much of a statement of purpose, but it is a far cry from the Orioles’ past stance in regards to Machado, which was essentially: We’re not trading him, period.
“Manny’s an Oriole,” Duquette said Tuesday when asked about the chances Machado is still with the team on Opening Day. “I really don’t think we need to speculate about something like that. If something happens and we have a trade, of course we’re going to address the issues. I’ve said all along this is an important year for the Orioles in a lot of different areas.”
Suddenly, and seemingly out of nowhere, the sport was awakened to the notion that Machado could be dealt before the winter meetings are over on Thursday. The co-headliner of next winter’s free agent class — along with Washington Nationals right fielder Bryce Harper — Machado, like Harper, could be in line for a contract that would eclipse the record-setting $325 million deal signed by Giancarlo Stanton in 2014.
There was already speculation as to which uniform Machado would be wearing in 2019; now, the same question can now be asked for 2018, with teams such as the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Texas Rangers and even the division-rival New York Yankees all expected to be in the mix. Major roadblocks still exist — beginning with the essential question of how much a team can be expected to give up for just one guaranteed year of Machado — but the switch in the Orioles’ philosophy regarding him has energized the offseason talent market.
Duquette, pressed Tuesday about what a trade of Machado would signal to the team’s fans, refused to entertain talk of a “rebuild” in Baltimore: “We’re going to try to put the best team on the field that we can put on the field and be as competitive as we can,” he said. “That’s what we’ve always done. I don’t see any other rebuilding in the American League East.”
When the Orioles were surprise buyers instead of sellers at last year’s trade deadline — holding onto all their marketable pieces and adding pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and shortstop Tim Beckham for the stretch run — they explained the decision as reflecting the organization’s confidence about the team’s ability to contend in the second half of 2017 and again in 2018.
But, clearly, circumstances have changed. For one thing, the Orioles collapsed during a 7-20 September to land themselves in the AL East cellar for the first time in six years, a sobering reality-check for a franchise coming off three playoff appearances in the previous five years.
For another, while the Boston Red Sox won a second straight AL East title, the Yankees reemerged as an elite financial and competitive force in the division, turning a 20-8 September into a wild-card slot and coming within one win of the World Series — then bolstering their roster by trading for Stanton, the reigning NL MVP, this week.
[Stanton trade leaves Yankees standing tall and Marlins reduced to rubble]
Duquette lamented the Yankees’ move, saying, “The rich got richer,” and acknowledging the Orioles have to be “very resourceful” to combat the economic might of the Yankees and Red Sox.
But the Orioles, it is clear, need two or maybe three solid starting pitchers to even begin to think about fielding a respectable team again, and they’re not going to sign big-name free agents, they don’t have the prospects to package in a trade and they aren’t close to developing any homegrown impact starters. Trading Machado, at least in theory, could be their best – or only – path to making a major upgrade to their rotation.
“The market’s thin on pitching … because there’s so many clubs looking for starting pitching,” Duquette said. “So it’s generally a good idea to know what the value of the market is for your team.”
The Orioles might have been better served arriving at such an awakening five months ago. Machado is now entering his final year before free agency — Duquette said the team hasn’t even broached the idea of a long-term extension over the past couple of years — as are teammates Zach Britton, Brad Brach and Adam Jones. As potential trade chips, the value of those assets is now perhaps half what they were in July, when contenders could have acquired those players for two postseason runs, instead of one.
If Machado were to be traded this winter, the Phillies are widely viewed as the likeliest landing spot. Team president Andy MacPhail and GM Matt Klentak were both in Baltimore when the Orioles drafted Machado with the third overall pick in 2010. The Phillies are also in the latter stages of a tear-down/rebuild that has them positioned to be major buyers in the coming years.
The Cardinals, meanwhile, are motivated to land a big bat and are rich in major-league-ready prospects, but they were also moving toward a potential trade for Miami Marlins outfielder Marcell Ozuna.
The bigger question is: Why would a team give up good young players in a trade for one guaranteed year of Machado when they could wait another year — when, presumably, they would be closer to contention anyway — and sign him as a free agent without sacrificing talent? A team could always attempt to pull off a sign-and-trade deal contingent upon reaching agreement with Machado on a long-term contract extension, but it is unlikely he would consider such an agreement when he is this close to free agency, and Duquette said such a scenario hasn’t been discussed.
There is perhaps some unquantifiable value in having Machado for a full season before he hits free agency, in hopes the acclimation process helps sway him to stay, but not necessarily enough to justify trading away young, controllable assets.
The Machado picture is further muddled by reports that he wants to move back to shortstop — the position he played as an amateur and a minor leaguer, before the Orioles shifted him to third base, where he won Gold Glove awards in 2013 and 2015. Such a shift, made possible by the departure of veteran J.J. Hardy, could enhance Machado’s free agent value, but the Orioles’ management is divided on the wisdom of such a move.
“To say that Manny and I haven’t had conversations about [a move to shortstop] over the years wouldn’t be truthful,” Manager Buck Showalter said. “I’ve got a real gut feeling about how it’s going to work out.”
On Sept. 24 at Camden Yards, in the Orioles’ final home game of the year, Machado flied out to center to end the eighth inning of what would be a 9-4 win. When he walked off the field at game’s end, there was every expectation Machado would be back in Baltimore in 2018. Maybe by the end of that season, there would be a chance to say goodbye.
Instead, there is now reason to believe Machado’s farewell to Baltimore, such as it was, has already happened.
Read more MLB:
After getting valuable bench play last season, Nationals have some holes to fill
MLB umpire Dale Scott retires over fear of further concussions
With Giancarlo Stanton trade, Yankees have stumbled into a historic lineup
Read Again https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2017/12/12/orioles-knew-theyd-lose-manny-machado-one-day-now-they-may-trade-him/Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Orioles knew they'd lose Manny Machado one day. Now they may trade him."
Post a Comment