Contending teams must weigh price to acquire Machado

If published reports are accurate the Phillies could have traded for Manny Machado during the winter. The Orioles asked for Scott Kingery and Sixto Sanchez in return. The Phillies declined the offer.

The Yankees, according to reports, also said no when the Orioles demanded Gleyber Torres in return. The White Sox gave the same answer when the O’s asked for Lucas Giolito. Other teams said no to similar proposals.

Machado is a pending free agent who has made it clear that he will not return to Baltimore once his contract expires. The O’s’ strategy, apparently, was to ask for the moon during the offseason and see if anyone would bite. When no one did they figured they’d open the season with Machado playing shortstop and see what they could get for him in July.

Well, July is here. And you can be certain it won’t end with Machado still wearing a Baltimore uniform. There are a number of teams with postseason aspirations who see the slugging shortstop as their ticket to glory. Now the question is, what is it worth to one of those teams to rent a star for the stretch run and perhaps the postseason? It might be plenty.

Some of the Los Angeles media have made it clear that they believe that the Dodgers must pay whatever it takes to land Machado. They deem it a mistake that the Dodgers refused to pay the asking price for Justin Verlander last year and don’t want that “mistake” repeated. Of course there’s almost no comparison between those two situations, but that won’t stop the media from beating the drum.

The louder that drum beats the more clearly it’s heard in Phoenix, where the Diamondbacks hold a thin lead over the Dodgers in the National League West pennant race. Not only would Machado be a huge improvement over Arizona’s incumbent shortstop Nick Ahmed, but the Diamondbacks want to make sure the Dodgers aren’t the ones who get him. Moreover the Diamondbacks have a history of ponying up when they want a player.

The Cubs reportedly have been eyeing Machado for months. The Indians, who haven’t had a World Championship since 1948, might be tempted to mortgage their future in an effort to reel in the big prize this time around.

If the Phillies are still interested in landing Machado — and it appears that they are — they will have to outbid a lot of competition.

If they did, indeed, turn down an offseason offer that is understandable. After all they were coming off a 96loss season. They had plenty of young talent and looked like an emerging team. Probably, the most optimistic view within the front office was that this would be a transition season so it would be foolish to deal valuable prospects for a player who could walk away at the end of the year. Hardly anyone would have expected the Phillies to reach the halfway point of the season with a genuine chance to reach the postseason, but guess what?

The season has passed the half-way point and if it ended today the Phillies would play the Cubs in the National League wild-card game. If they could add Machado to this roster anything would be possible. Right now. This year.

What looked like a silly deal in mid-winter looks perfectly sensible and appealing in midsummer. The Phillies might not be the team that gets Machado but I would certainly expect them to make a strong bid.

The offer probably wouldn’t be the same deal they reportedly turned down earlier. The Phillies might prefer to part with J.P. Crawford, who is currently on the disabled list, than with Kingery. The Orioles might ask for Adonis Medina, who has an 8-2 record in Class A Clearwater, rather than Sanchez, who is also on the disabled list.

Whatever they do — or don’t do — it certainly won’t be a no-brainer. If young players are traded they will be gone forever. If they acquire a soon-to-be free agent he might remain with the team only a few weeks and then he, too, would be gone forever. Such a deal would pay off only in the pending free agent makes a huge difference during those few weeks.

Is that worth the price?

Contenders and nearcontenders wrestle with that question every July and there’s seldom an easy answer and there certainly isn’t this time. But, in this instance, there might be another factor for the Phillies to consider.

The Phillies are expected to be one of the teams that will pursue Machado if he becomes a free agent. Right now, of course, they can’t admit that. That would be tampering.

However, if they were to acquire him in a trade he would become their property, at least for a short time. In that case there would be no rule preventing them from opening negotiations and even signing him to a contract extension. It would give them the opportunity to lock up their prize before the other suitors could even knock on his door.