Site last updated: Wednesday, April 24, 2024

Log In

Reset Password
MENU
Butler County's great daily newspaper

Machado will be on move

Will either change positions or be traded

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — Baltimore Orioles star Manny Machado could be on the move.

To a new position — or a new team.

Big names emerged in trade talk Tuesday, with Machado, New York Mets pitcher Matt Harvey and Detroit pitcher Michael Fulmer heating up the winter meetings.

And no surprise, the busy New York Yankees are looming, looking to boost a ballclub getting more formidable by the day.

For the moment, no deals for that trio of All-Stars.

“Everything else is — today — moot,” Mets general manager Sandy Alderson said of a Harvey deal.

Pitching is always at a premium, and the Chicago Cubs completed two-year contracts for reliever Brandon Morrow and pitcher Drew Smyly, expected to miss next season while recovering from Tommy John surgery.

The Yankees made another trade, too. Nothing close to magnitude of getting NL MVP Giancarlo Stanton from Miami, but nonetheless a deal that could help them very soon. New York sent third baseman Chase Headley, pitcher Bryan Mitchell and $500,000 to San Diego for outfielder Jabari Blash.

“The biggest motivation from our end is it creates a lot more financial flexibility,” Yankees general manager Brian Cashman said after dumping a $13 million salary.

That could lead to another starter for the Yankees’ rotation, such as Fulmer. The 2016 AL Rookie of the Year was an All-Star last season, going 10-12 with a 3.83 ERA for the Tigers.

A more intriguing possibility, for any club, is Machado.

At 25, he’s already a three-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glover at third base. Plus, he’s a power bat, hitting 33 home runs with 95 RBIs last season.

Machado had an $11.5 million salary last season, is eligible for arbitration and can become a free agent after next year’s World Series. That’s prompted questions about whether the last-place Orioles can afford him, or if he’d even want to stick around Camden Yards.

Or if they’d be better off trading him to guarantee something in return.

In the meantime, Machado is indicating he’d like to shift over to shortstop. The spot is open, now that J.J. Hardy has become a free agent.

Machado made his big league debut as a third baseman in 2012 with the Orioles and has made 49 starts at shortstop, most of them in 2016 when Hardy was hurt.

Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said Machado has long expressed in interest in playing shortstop.

More in Professional

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

* indicates required
TODAY'S PHOTOS