The New York Yankees are among the teams that are exploring the possibility of trading for Manny Machado as the July 31 deadline nears, but they may be unwilling to give up one of the players the Baltimore Orioles are hung up on.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Orioles want left-hander Justus Sheffield — the top pitching prospect in the Yankees organization — in any potential Machado deal.
Source: #Orioles willing to trade Manny Machado to #Yankees if LHP prospect Justus Sheffield is in the deal, but there is skepticism #Yankees would move Sheffield for a rental. @MLB @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 11, 2018
Of course, the Yankees could probably make it so Machado is not a rental. While they’re hesitant to go over the luxury tax, they obviously have the money to sign him to a long-term contract extension. Machado would have to agree to that before they would consider giving up their top pitching prospect.
One of the biggest potential obstacles for the Yankees is that they are set at shortstop with Didi Gregorius, and Machado has hinted that he is unwilling to change positions. That could stand in the way of him agreeing a long-term deal with New York, which would in turn affect how much they are willing to give up in a trade.
