As the countdown until the MLB Trade Deadline moves from a month to weeks, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Manny Machado remains the most coveted player on the trade market.
While plenty of contenders will be pushing hard to land Machado, one NL West team has reportedly been the most engaged in consistent talks to land the All-Star shortstop.
According to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, the Arizona Diamondbacks have remained in “consistent” conversations with Baltimore to find a potential deal for the impending free agent.
Sources: Manny Machado trade conversations between #DBacks and #Orioles have been “consistent.” @Ken_Rosenthal reported Arizona and Cleveland might be the most motivated suitors in Machado talks. @MLBNetwork @MLB
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) July 4, 2018
Given the report earlier this week that Baltimore is accelerating trade talks for Machado, it seems the Diamondbacks might be the team to watch most closely in the coming weeks.
Machado carries a .311/.378/.565 slash line with a .944 OPS, 21 home runs and 59 RBI this season.
If Arizona is going to land him, it will likely have to center a deal around right-handed pitching prospect Jon Duplantier. The 23-year-old is rated by MLB.com as Arizona’s No.1 prospect.