The Baltimore Orioles are not panicking ahead of Manny Machado’s impending free agency in a little over a year.
Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported on Thursday that the Orioles do not plan to shop the All-Star third baseman this offseason. However, the team and owner Peter Angelos are undecided if they will make another big attempt to extend Machado and a trade at next year’s deadline may still be a possibility.
Machado, 25, is hitting .264 in 2017 with 32 homers, 92 RBIs, and his usual elite defense at the hot corner as he further solidifies himself as one of the MLB’s brightest young talents and easily the best asset on the Orioles roster.
Some already don’t believe the O’s can keep Machado, and with his presumed price tag (Heyman adds it could take at least $200 million for Baltimore to extend him), that may be a decent bet. We heard recently that ponying up that kind of money for the two-time Gold Glover could be a problem for the O’s, but at least they have some time to figure everything out.
