The Chicago White Sox are not only a surprise suitor for the Manny Machado but are also seen as one of the early favorites according to multiple reports including Bruce Levine of WSCR-AM.
Bob Nightengale of USA Today also reports that the Baltimore Orioles are starting to move aggressively in working out a trade for their star third baseman. Nightengale hears that the St. Louis Cardinals, who recently acquire outfielder Marcell Ozuna, have a strong offer for Machado.
Along with the White Sox and Cardinals, the New York Yankees, San Francisco Giants and Philadelphia Phillies have all made offers for Machado.
Dan Black of TBLDaily thinks the White Sox could acquire Machado to flip him to the Yankees. Multiple reports suggest that the Orioles won’t trade Machado to another AL East team.
The three-time All-Star is coming off of a year in which he batted .259/.310/.471 with 33 home runs, 95 RBI but was just a 3.5 WAR player after seeing falls in OPS+ and DRS.
Machado will be a free agent after the 2018 season.
The San Diego Padres have become the clear-cut favorite for free agent first baseman Eric Hosmer according to Nigthengale. The Red Sox remain interest though their focus seems to be on slugging outfielder JD Martinez.
Hosmer, 28, had a career-season in 2017 when he hit .318/.385/.498 with 31 doubles, 25 doubles and 94 RBI for the Kansas City Royals. He also posted a career-high 132 OPS+ and played in all 162 games. He’s a career .284/.342/.439 hitter in seven major league seasons.
Other MLB News and Notes
Former Met Joe Smith signed a two-year, $15 million with the Houston Astros. The Mets had been linked to the reliever before signing Anthony Swarzak.
The Washington Nationals had interest in signing Matt Albers to a two-year deal before they inked Brandon Kintzler. Earlier this offseason, it was reported that the Mets had interest in the veteran right-hander.
The San Diego Padres have inquired on Miami Marlins outfielder Christian Yelich according to Dennis Lin of the San Diego Union-Tribune. At this time, the Marlins are unlikely to trade Yelich.
After acquiring Marcell Ozuna the Cardinals have been looking to deal an outfielder with the Oakland Athletics showing significant interest in Stephen Piscotty.
Former Mets prospect Cesar Puello has signed a minor league deal with the Arizona Diamondbacks according to Nick Piecoro of AZCentral. Puello made hsi major league debut in 2017 going 7 for 34 combined for the Angels and Rays.
The Texas Rangers are making a strong push for Royals reliever Kelvin Herrera per Nightengale. Numerous teams have also expressed interest in Royals left-handed reliever Danny Duffy.
As the Cubs look to replace closer closer Wade Davis they have talked to the Orioles about lefty Zach Britton.
