Manny Machado will play in his fourth All-Star Game Tuesday, but is likely to be traded before the month is up. (Arturo Pardavila III/Wikimedia Commons)
Earlier this month, MLB.com’s Jon Morosi reported that while the Philadelphia Phillies appeared very unlikely to part with 24-year-old righty Zach Eflin in a deal for Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado, it was unclear if the team would be willing to part with Adonis Medina, the organization’s No. 2 overall prospect according to MLB Pipeline.
It’s now clear.
With Jon Heyman of Fancred Sports and Roch Kubatko of MASN both reporting that a deal – one that won’t be with the New York Yankees, per Heyman – is close with one of the finalists for Machado, Morosi says the Phillies are willing to include Medina in a deal:
The Phillies have indicated that they would include right-handed pitching prospect Adonis Medina in a package for Machado, one source told MLB.com. The Orioles are known to covet Medina in the Machado talks. Unless another suitor increases its offer, the Phillies are well-positioned to acquire Machado.
What other names could the Orioles be interested in obtaining in return for their four-time All-Star? Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic previously said the Orioles were high on injured shortstop/third baseman J.P. Crawford. Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia added a few other names of interest to the Orioles; shortstop Arquemedes Gamboa, the No. 8 overall prospect in the Phillies system; RHP Franklyn Kilome, the No. 7 overall prospect in the Phillies system; LHP Ranger Suarez, the No. 9 overall prospect in the Phillies system and outfielder/first baseman Jhailyn Ortiz, the Phillies No. 5 overall prospect. He speculated that Enyel De Los Santos, Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr also could be of interest. However, Heyman added Sunday that the Phillies appear to be reluctant to part with De Los Santos.
While the Phillies would be adding one of the game’s elite talents in Machado, a trade certainly wouldn’t come without risk. Sure, Machado could help the Phillies reach the playoffs for the first time since 2011, enjoy his brief stint in Philadelphia and ultimately sign a 10-year free-agent contract with the Phillies this offseason. But regardless of where Machado finishes the season, there’s always been the belief that he wants to test free-agency this offseason. If the Phillies parted with a package headlined by their No. 2 overall prospect, only to lose Machado this offseason, it would set the franchise back quite a bit.
Machado, who turned 26 earlier this month, is currently slashing .315/.387/.575 with 24 home runs and 65 RBIs. Advanced metrics haven’t thought highly of Machado’s move back to shortstop, with FanGraphs saying he’s been the league’s worst fielding shortstop in 2018. Machado has said numerous times this season that he intends to sign his next contract as a shortstop, not a third baseman. The Phillies are reportedly comfortable with accommodating Machado.
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