Dodger Blue Bird
Manny to Hollywood, L.A. sends five to O’s
The Manny Machado sweepstakes is officially over.
The Orioles shortstop has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers, according to multiple reports. In return, Baltimore is receiving outfielder Yusniel Diaz, right-handers Dean Kremer and Zach Pop, third baseman Rylan Bannon and second baseman Breyvic Valera.
Diaz, ranked the Dodgers’ No. 4 prospect and No. 84 in all of baseball by MLB.com, is just 21 years old and has batted .314 with six homers for L.A.’s Double-A affiliate this season.
Bannon and Kramer are both Top 30 prospects in the Dodgers’ system — ranked No. 27 and No. 28 by MLB.com, respectively.
Kramer, a 22-year-old righthanded pitcher, has worked to a 3.30 ERA in 16 starts in High-A ball before a promotion to Double-A, tossing seven scoreless innings in his lone start so far at that level.
Bannon, 22, is only in Single-A but has batted an impressive .308 with 30 homers in 129 minor-league games.
Pop, who was drafted in 2017, is a reliever who has also not yet risen above Single-A ball but has a sparkling 0.93 ERA in 48.1 minor-league innings.
Valera, the oldest of the prospects at 26, is the lone player heading to the Orioles who has reached the majors. But the infielder hasn’t performed well in his brief opportunities at the highest level, going just 6-for-39 (.154) without an extra-base hit in the majors.
Machado, 26, had been the biggest target among contenders heading into this year’s trade deadline, with the Yankees among the teams rumored to be pursuing the young superstar. The Phillies and Brewers were also among the leading candidates to strike a deal for Machado.
The shortstop, who is in his last year of arbitration before he becomes a free agent this offseason, could still be a target for the Yankees this winter.
Machado fills a crucial hole for the NL West-leading Dodgers, who lost their own young superstar, Corey Seager, to season-ending Tommy John surgery on April 30.
This clearly appears to be a push by the Dodgers to finally win a World Series title after falling in seven games last October to the Astros. Los Angeles is at risk of watching long-time ace Clayton Kershaw, who has an opt-out in his contract coming up at the end of the season, depart via free agency this offseason, so they can sense that their window is closing on securing the franchise’s first championship since 1988.