Good afternoon baseball fans, the Manny Machado sweepstakes may be coming to a close today!
According to many sources including Ken Rosenthal of the Athletic, barring a last-minute snag rival clubs expect the Orioles to send Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sources believe that the deal agreed upon will send Yusniel Diaz, Dustin May, and Errol Robinson to Baltimore for Machado, cash, and bonus pool money.
Machado will slot in at shortstop, replacing the injured Corey Seager. Kike Hernandez and Corey Taylor will split time at second, Max Muncy will move to first, and Corey Bellinger will split time in both the outfield and first. This move will likely force a trade in the crowded Dodgers outfield.
Phillies Have a Plan B
Even if they do miss out on the Machado sweepstakes, it looks like the Phillies are still looking to add pieces. Todd Zolecki of MLB.com has said that Philadelphia will turn their focus towards Royals 3B Mike Moustakas or Twins SS/3B Eduardo Escobar.
The Phillies have gotten little to nothing out of the left side of their infield offensively. Scott Kingery and J.P. Crawford have posted a combined .648 OPS, which is 26th in the league. Either Moustakas or Escobar certainly would provide some pop and would be an upgrade.
Indians Interested in Brad Hand
According to Jerry Crasnick of ESPN, the Cleveland Indians are amongst multiple teams who have shown interest in Padres lefty Brad Hand. Both the Yankees and the Cubs have also been linked to Hand recently.
The 28-year old lefty would likely come at a pretty steep price, as he does come with two more affordable years of control. Hand has been great as the Padres closer since 2016, posting a 2.66 ERA over 213 innings.
