MLB trade rumors: Latest odds for Orioles’ Manny Machado | Where are Yankees, Phillies?

by Felix Pantaleón

The MLB non-waiver trade deadline is July 31, 2018 (7/31/18). The best bat on the market is Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado. The last-place Orioles are expected to move Machado, who will become a free agent after the 2018 season. There are no less than 10 teams in the running for Machado, including the Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Red Sox.

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The biggest bat available on the trade market before MLB’s July 31st non-waiver deadline is Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado.

Machado is having an MVP-caliber season for the last-place Orioles, who have the worst record in the majors.

Machado will be a free agent after the 2018 season, so any team trading for him can’t count on him for more than anything but a short-term rental.

FanRag Sports’ Jon Heyman has identified the top 10 contenders in the Machado sweepstakes, and sitting at No. 1 with 3-1 odds are the Phillies:

As if they didn’t have enough trouble on the left side of the infield, rookie shortstop/third baseman J.P. Crawford just suffered a broken hand on a hit by pitch. The Phillies are getting little production there and Phillies people who knew Machado well from their days with the Orioles (Andy MacPhail, Matt Klentak, Ned Rice, Scott Proefrock and Joe Jordan all were O’s execs at the time of Machado’s drafting) would be thrilled to add Machado.

The one question that remains is whether the Phillies are a real contender this year, and thus, whether they’d be willing to surrender real pieces for a rental. In the winter, they will be all-in.

Yanks are ‘long shot’ to get deGrom

After the Phillies, Heyman lists the Cardinals (6-1), Diamondbacks (7-1), Indians (10-1), Dodgers (12-1), Cubs (15-1), Padres (18-1), Braves (20-1), Red Sox (25-1) and Brewers (30-1) as the most likely destinations for Machado.

As for the Yankees, Heyman lumped them in with the rest of the field at 9-1:

The Yankees are stacked on the field and need to stay under the threshold. The Nats are full of surprises, but a starting pitcher is likely their concern, too. The Angels could form the greatest left side in history, with Andrelton Simmons at shortstop, but they look like they are more likely to wind up a buyer of pitchers or even a seller.

Mike Rosenstein may be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @rosenstein73. Find NJ.com on Facebook.