The Manny Machado sweepstakes are getting hot. Over the weekend, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported that the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were the leading candidates (in a deep field) for the Baltimore Orioles slugger.
On Monday, Jon Morosi of MLB.com theorized that Milwaukee is best positioned to acquire Machado. He cited the Brewers’ outfield depth, as well as their starting pitching prospects, who can fill a real need for the Orioles.
“To address that, Milwaukee could offer Corbin Burnes (who was just called up to the Majors) or Luis Ortiz as the primary pitcher in an offer for Machado,” Morosi noted. “Meanwhile, the Brewers’ overall depth is such that general manager David Stearns can part with an experienced Major Leaguer — Keon Broxton, Domingo Santana or Orlando Arcia — and deliver immediate value to the O’s Major League roster.”
Of course, Baltimore would need to play ball, as well. Recent reports have suggested that the Orioles turned down a comparable (if not even better) offer from the Dodgers.
Ortiz has a 4.41 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, and 51 strikeouts in 49 innings for Double-A Biloxi in 2018.
Burns, meanwhile, posted a 5.15 ERA, 1.45 WHIP, and struck out 81 batters in 78.2 innings in Triple-A Colorado Springs prior to his promotion. It is worth noting, however, that Colorado Springs is even more elevated than Denver. As such, we need to grade those numbers on something of a curve. In 2017, he posted a 1.85 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP with 140 strikeouts in 145.2 innings between High-A Carolina and Double-A Biloxi.
If nothing else, this should give Baltimore quite a bit to think about.