MLB trade rumors: Manny Machado hints at how he truly feels about Yankees talk

With Yankees trade rumors swirling before the July 31, 2018 (7/31/18) non-waiver deadline, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado “liked” an Instagram post that contained an image of him wearing a …

Things are starting to get weird.

Orioles shortstop Manny Machado tipped his hand to what he really thinks of these Yankees trade rumors on Wednesday.

Machado clicked the like button on an image of himself wearing a Yankees uniform posted to Instagram.

He has since removed his “like” from the image posted by the account @baseballoverload — but not well before users saw what Machado’s account (@machados13) had done.

Manny Machado out here throwing likes around [?]

A post shared by Bleacher Report (@bleacherreport) on Jul 11, 2018 at 8:36pm PDT

It’s possible that Machado clicked the button on accident, or at least that may be what he eventually tells people.

But, in reality, it’s not that easy to accidentally hit an Instagram like button and not realize it almost immediately. It becomes even harder to fathom when it’s about something as talked about as Machado’s possible future in the Bronx.

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The rumor mill has heated up big-time in recent days, with talk that the Yankees are upping their pursuit of the 26-year-old slugger who will also be one of the two most coveted bats in free agency after the season.

While the Yankees desperately need starting pitching, if general manager Brian Cashman can’t find what he wants, he could do what he did in the offseason when he traded for slugger Giancarlo Stanton and boost the Yankees’ offense, which is already among the best in the game.

Macahado, heading to his fourth All-Star game, is hitting .314 with 23 homers and 63 RBI with a .957 OPS in 92 games entering Thursday. He’s moved back to his natural shortstop position this season, but the Yankees would likely move him to third base in deference to the defensively superior Didi Gregorius.

Baltimore, however, has no shortage of suitors for Machado, with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks and even the Red Sox in the mix. The Orioles would likely prefer not to trade him to a team in its own division.

Brendan Kuty may be reached at bkuty@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BrendanKutyNJ. Find NJ.com Yankees on Facebook.