O’s still dropping lines

LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. – The Orioles front office continued to assess superstar third baseman Manny Machado’s trade value on Wednesday’s final full day of the baseball winter meetings, and while the club sees preliminary potential fits with about a handful of teams, it hasn’t ruled out the possibility of moving Machado anywhere, even to a division rival such as the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox.

Trade discussions regarding Machado went deeper Wednesday, but at this point, it appears that the Orioles will leave the meetings after Thursday’s Rule 5 draft with Machado still on the roster. Club officials remain ready to listen to offers, but not necessarily in any hurry to move their best player as he enters his final season before free agency.

“We’re making good progress on that,” executive vice president Dan Duquette said Wednesday regarding Machado’s evolving trade market. “We met with a couple teams today. So we’ve got an idea of what their interest is. [We] will see if we match up, so we’re making good progress on that. We did some of that last night also. So that’s moving along. … I think that’s taking its natural course. You need to find out what the teams are interested in, if you match up with certain teams. There’s a little more time to do that.” Machado

The Orioles will seemingly head back to Baltimore looking to build on conversations they’ve had with clubs regarding Machado with an emphasis on deciding his eventual fate by the end of the month.

“Clubs are putting their teams together now, so that window of when teams are adding key pieces to their ballclub, it usually goes on now through the first of the year,” Duquette added. “At some point, you have to decide if you’re going to fish or cut bait, so that’s a little ways down the track.”