The Baltimore Orioles are almost certainly going to trade Manny Machado before the July 31 deadline, but it sounds as though their expectations for what they are going to get in return may need to be tempered.
ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick reports that the Orioles have yet to find a team that is willing to come close to meeting their asking price in a potential Machado trade.
I keep hearing that teams aren't close to offering what the #Orioles want for Manny Machado. He's an amazing player, but he's still a rental, and Baltimore's expectations just don't jibe with the way the market values rental players these days. Something has to give.
— Jerry Crasnick (@jcrasnick) July 6, 2018
While Machado is an incredible talent who only turned 25 on Friday, he is set to become a free agent after the season. Without an agreement in place for a long-term extension, teams will be hesitant to give up several top prospects for a player who could end up being a two-month rental.
Machado isn’t making life easy for the Orioles with the public comments he has made about a potential trade, but it’s not as if Baltimore can pretend they don’t want to deal him. While the O’s reportedly want to move Machado as quickly as possible, they may have to wait until closer to the deadline, when teams may feel a stronger sense of urgency to land the star third baseman.
