MLB trade rumors: Yankees in on Orioles' Zach Britton, along with several contenders

by Felix Pantaleon

The Baltimore Orioles traded All-Star shortstop Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, July 18, 2018 (7/18/18). The next person general manager Dan Duquette could deal before the July 31, 2018 (7/31/18) non-waiver deadline is left-handed reliever Zach Britton.

With the San Diego Padres trading reliever Brad Hand to the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, the best bullpen arm on the market belongs to Baltimore Orioles left-hander Zach Britton.

But he might not be on the market very long, according to Fancred.com’s Jon Heyman:

Zach Britton has a big market, between the Cubs, Yankees, Red Sox and likely also … the Braves and several others. “He looks like the Britton of old,” one scout who saw a recent save said.

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The Red Sox are concentrating on relievers in trade talks, almost exclusively relievers. Zach Britton, Joakim Soria and Jeurys Famila are among the better ones who would fit Boston, which has few trade chips …

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The Astros could use a back-end reliever, executives say, but to this point they have not been heavily involved with Zach Britton, the closer they traded for last year. Perhaps that’s because the Orioles backed out last year, and they don’t want to go through it again with them. Or perhaps it’s because they believe manager A.J. Hinch will figure it out, as he did last year …

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The Phillies people are also known to love Orioles closer Zach Britton who they had in Baltimore too while they were there …

MLB odds for 2nd half of season

It’s been a busy week for the Orioles, who finally unloaded All-Star shortstop Manny Machado on Wednesday, sending him to the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Britton could be the next person to leave Baltimore. He’s 1-0 with 4 saves and a 3.68 ERA in 15 games this season. In 2016, his last full season in the majors, Britton had a career-high 47 saves and a career-low 0.54 ERA.

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