Baltimore Orioles superstar Manny Machado has been rumored to be on the move this season, seemingly since it began.
Now we’re hearing that the Orioles are ramping up their efforts, according to The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal, who reports the team is “accelerating” trade talks ahead of the deadline.
That target date, of course, would be the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.
Machado has been one of the best players in all of baseball this year. Unfortunately, he’s been the only real bright spot on one of the league’s worst teams.
The star infielder is set to be a free agent after the season and is primed to ink a massive deal. So far this year, he’s posting career-best numbers — a 310/.377/.564 slash line, along with 21 home runs and 59 RBI.
The Chicago Cubs and Cleveland Indians are reportedly the leaders to land Machado, though given the way these things typically play out there are likely hidden contenders working behind the scenes to land him as well.