For many fans of the Dodgers, the main focus Tuesday evening was trying to keep track of all the specifics of the impending Manny Machado trade with the Orioles. At the beginning of the evening, there seemed to be a decent chance the deal would go down, but by around 7:00 p.m. Pacific time, most of the reliable reports surfacing on Twitter indicated that the trade was imminent. All this while the MLB’s 89th All-Star Game trudged along on television sets in the background.
Although it’s not likely that the trade will not officially be announced until sometime Wednesday at the soonest, it is believed that Yusniel Diaz—he who took the minor league world by storm at the Futures Game on Sunday—is the centerpiece of the package that is headed to Baltimore. Rumors about the remainder of the Orioles’ haul vary anywhere from Dustin May to Yadier Alvarez to Gavin Lux to Alex Verdugo. There are also rumblings that the Dodgers could include a player from their active roster, most specifically infielder Logan Forsythe, to offset part of Machado’s salary so the team can stay below the 2018 luxury tax threshold.
In the same breath, several reporters suggested that the deal could linger for several days, as Baltimore is likely to be very meticulous with medical reports and player physicals for the players they will be welcoming. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic suggested this to be especially true after the complications involved in the deal with the Astros and lefty reliever Zach Britton last summer.
As far as Diaz goes, he definitely has five-tool potential. He is currently ranked among the Top 10 prospects in the Dodgers’ system by all the large outlets. Now a 21-year-old, Diaz was originally signed by Los Angeles as a 19-year-old free agent out of Cuba late in 2015. Last year, after dealing with an early injury bug, he went on to hit .292/.354/.433 with 11 long balls and 52 RBI in 114 combined games for High-A Rancho and Double-A Tulsa. This season, he’s slashing .314/.428/.477 with six homers and 30 RBI through 59 games.
Diaz has the quickness to handle center field with ease, but his pure athleticism gives him the capability of succeeding at all three outfield spots. Additionally, both his arm strength and his speed on the basepaths grade way above average. And his emerging power with the bat has made him a much sought after commodity in this summer’s trade market among rival sellers.
The 26-year-old Machado, who is set to be a free agent at the end of the 2018 season, spoke to the media in the American League clubhouse just before Tuesday’s contest and said he had not been notified of any news from neither the Orioles or his agent.
“Nothing,” he said. “I haven’t heard anything. I’m just worried about the game today. Whatever happens moving forward will happen, and there will be a time and place for everything.”
Even Dodgers’ outfielder Matt Kemp, who is very close friends with Machado, told reporters before the game that Manny would have told him if the deal was firm.
However, by the time the sixth inning of the actual game rolled around, the trade was reported as being “in the bank,” as both sides were waiting for the smoke to settle from the game news, in addition to securing the medical records of all the involved parties.
In terms of the game itself, the National League squad made a valiant comeback when Christian Yelich homered in the eighth, followed by a two-run, ninth-inning blast to right by Scooter Gennett, tying the score and sending the game to extra innings. Nevertheless, Dodgers’ righty Ross Stripling got touched up for three runs in the top of the tenth after teammates Alex Bregman and George Springer both went yard, followed by a sacrifice fly off the bat of Michael Brantley.
Joey Votto led off the bottom of the tenth with a solo home-run which brought the NL to within two runs, but it wasn’t enough, as lefty J.A. Happ was able to record the final three outs and secure the 8-6 victory for the American League.
Kemp, who started in left field and hit fifth for the National League, ended up going 1-for-2 with a double. Moments after his extra-base hit, the 33-year-old veteran posed with Machado at second base while Manny snapped a photo of the pair.
Los Angeles closer Kenley Jansen did not pitch in the contest.
Told ya the deal was in the bag, Dennis! I expect this transition to go much smoother than the one the Dodgers pulled off with those rotten Padres a few years back when they sent Kemp over for Grandal and got held up due to the Padres GM haggling over Kemp’s medical reports (ugh). Either way, MANNYWOOD THE SEQUEL returns to LA to kick off the 2nd half and that’s the bottom line folks!
As for the All-Star Game, I wonder at what point did they finally switch over to the “juiced” balls to spice it up for ratings’ sake, hmmm…oh well, maybe the hitters are just that more knowledgeable of their own swings with the whole launch angle craze in recent years. Poor Stripling, he must’ve thought his outing was done until Scooter ruined everything with that game-tying HR to send it into extras (Reds can keep him after that nonsense, lol). Ironic that in the end it was the Astros sticking it to the Dodgers once again, bah!
See if Machado has anything the say about it when he finally sets foot in the City of Angels in the next few days…
🙂
Trans-ACTION, I meant. Damn, Scooter really ticked me off tonight can’t even type clearly right now (haha)…
You seem real excited about machado Manuel, we’ve been talking about relievers, and catchers so much, I didn’t realize you were a fan of this move. A few weeks ago I was hoping for a machado deal, but had dropped it in favor of pitching. Just read May is in the deal also. It will be real interesting to see what we give up in the end. We’ll have to talk tomorrow, like to see what you guys all think of the deal, and the players we give up.
Of course I’m excited about it, mainly because the Orioles had nowhere else to go but to the Dodgers to unload him in the end (consequence of them failing to move him this past offseason, btw). What I like about the deal even more is that the prospects rumored to be included are NOT the ones the front office was hell-bent in keeping out of any move for a likely rental such as Machado for instance. Yeah, definitely gotta discuss this in further detail with the others on here later on when more info finally starts making its way out regarding this blockbuster trade…
I look forward to discussing it too, but not until it is actually done. Not in the bag yet.
Oh, it’s in the bag folks. What I honestly don’t get is why MLB felt the need to sweep it under the damn rug during the All-Star Game because the fact of the matter is news like that is naturally going to overshadow whatever else is going on at that point in time regardless, especially in today’s social media-driven culture. Trying to hide something that monumental was probably not the best course of action to take, anyway. Truthfully speaking, I was far more interested in how that deal went down then the actual All-Star Game itself and I KNOW I’m not in the minority there…
You answered your own question there Manuel. Yesterday was all about promoting the League. The deal is NOT done, so why step on that game?
Oh, come off it already. You know what I’m getting at here. Kemp and Machado taking selfies together before the game (I mean who were those two trying to fool, anyway???). Machado being lifted roughly halfway through the game and speaking of the Orioles in the PAST tense afterward upon being interviewed. Tweets don’t tell me squat, buddy. Body language does and there was way more than enough of it to show the deal actually did go down yesterday. Now if you want to keep thinking the trade “blackout” was done in MLB’s best interest due to the promotion of the All-Star festivities, fine. Just don’t go around thinking everyone else around here (and in general) feels the same way you do about it because I sure as hell don’t. That was very tiring to sit through, almost enough to make me flip the channel at one point come to think of it. MLB needs to handle their business better when it comes to breaking news like the Machado deal for example. Dennis was right, anyway. Most people were more interested in that than whatever was going on in the game and why not? Making a half-baked attempt at hiding it (not as bad as what happened to Josh Hader, though) was like cutting one’s nose off to spite their face. NOT necessary, but that’s just my take on it.
Ok, I get it. And I appreciate your enthusiasm. I share in it. But, yesterday was about the ASG, and THAT is a very big deal to MLB.
I suspect all medical exams etc will be completed before play resumes Friday. Sometime between now and then, to much pomp and amplified apotheosis, this deal will be announced. And we Dodger fans shall rejoice and celebrate as everybody else around the league, especially those fans of the NL West, throw their hands in the air and scream furiously – “THOSE F****** DODGERS!!!” And don’t we love to see NL fans apoplectic when these things happen?
Yes. Yes, we do.
Indeed, buddy. Still, the timing of this trade…it just HAD to fall smack-dab in the middle of the All-Star break, eh? Not sure what the Orioles front office was trying to accomplish there, haha!
;-p
Relevance maybe? Everybody was watching. They got very little else going on in Baltimore.
Still waiting. Rumor has it May has bunions. I started the rumor so I’m waiting to see if gets any traction.
Is Baltimore going to screw this deal up? They’re showing why they have a reputation of being difficult to work with.
Hey, did you guys hear? May has bunions and the whole deal might be called off. A guy named Scoop who has great sources in the Dodger front office posted that news. All kidding aside, no deal with the Orioles can ever be announced until they do all their med exams on the guys they’re getting. If we’re giving them five prospects, that’s a lot of exams to go through and that organization is notorious for pulling the plug on deals at the last minute, either for medical reasons or because they just change their mind. Yes, odds of the deal going through are probably about 99.9 percent at this point, but there’s always that 0.1 percent that could jump up and bite us in our collective ass.
I’m one of the guys who felt relief pitching was far more important than Machado so I’m going to see what we give up for Manny and if we get a couple of really good relievers before I make up my mind completely. But of course, having my mind half made up never stopped me from making comments here. 🙂
Lo and behold, I barely hit the send button to post my comment and Steve Phillips reports there is a snag with the medicals on one of the players the Dodgers are sending. Heyman says it isn’t Diaz so I’m guessing this probably won’t kill the deal. It’s probably a lower level pitcher and they’ll sub someone else……………………………….or not.
Yeah, it’s always been one of Peter Angelos’ old habits dating back to the mid-90s (lol). This deal has pretty much gone through, no way they’re backing out without getting Diaz for what it’s worth. They saw that kid put on a show in the Futures Game and that was all she wrote. MANNYWOOD WILL RISE AGAIN, FOLKS!!!
🙂
I can report four names confirmed going to Baltimore in the Machado deal: Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Zach Pop, Rylan Bannon.
Awww, they had to go and serve up Bannon in the deal. Was praying they would leave him out of that one, but I guess he would’ve been blocked anyway. Too bad, thought he might’ve had a chance to stick around for the Dodgers long-term. Gonna miss Pop as well, but I get the feeling the front office already has an idea of who they’re targeting for the bullpen right now. Kremer was potential trade bait one way or another. Funny that he was scheduled to pitch today for Tulsa, hmm…
Valera seems to be the fifth.
What in the world are they gonna do with Verdugo, let him rot at OKC until he’s 40?
Assuming that CT3 now goes to second and Muncy spends most of his time at first, that leaves outfielders Bellinger, Kemp, Joc, Toles, Kike and Puig (when he gets back). Not to mention Verdugo. I’ll bet Joc, Toles or Puig are traded by August in some sort of deal. They want Belli and Kemp to start most of the time against right and left handers, which leaves Joc, Toles and Verdugo fighting for basically one spot against right handers and Kike starting against left handers. Once Puig returns it gets even more crowded. Unless they put Verdugo in a deal for someone like deGrom or are actually willing to give him up for Iglesias, Joc or Toles will probably be shipped out while they can sell high.
Well, looks like we can finally discuss the Machado trade now that it’s officially complete. 5 prospects led by Top 5-ranked Yusniel Diaz headed to the Orioles for THE one-and-only Manny Machado. Issues with the medical reports no longer hanging in the air, plus prospects Dustin May and Gavin Lux that were rumored to be included in the deal apparently are not. Neither of the big-league roster guys that were previously mentioned as possibly being moved in the deal for luxury tax purposes are going in this one, which is kinda strange. Then again, maybe Friedman’s saving those cards for the next deal to take place…
Good job Dennis, Mlb rumors doesn’t have anybody but Diaz so far.
I can live with those five, but I think the O’s did pretty well for themselves. Really sorry to lose Pop. I hope we don’t ship Kasowski out when we trade for our bullpen guys. Would rather it be Kremer than May, Diaz may turn out to be excellent but let’s face it, we have plenty of outfielders. I know Manuel is a big fan of Bannon’s and I like him too, but I’m willing to give him up for Machado. Any word about money coming back?
I’m still waiting for the official email from public relations.
Wasn’t Zach pop the guy you’ve been keeping an eye on, Jeff?
Yup Keith, it seems like we just discovered him and he’s gone. The other guy (actually his roommate at Rancho) is Kasowski. I’m really hoping they hang on to him. Last I saw he was getting fairly close to 18k/9 innings.
I just exchanged a few notes with our buddy Zach, wishing him well and congratulating him. He thanked everyone at the blog again for all our support. I guess I should do a followup story on Kasowski manana.
You probably should, but maybe it would be a good idea to wait until after July 31st. I have a bad feeling about his value as a trade chip.
Honestly, I would have rather kept Pop. I never saw either pitch, but my gut says Zach will go farther. Maybe Balt liked that microscopic ERA.
We’ll probably send the O’s three good prospects to get Zach back at the trade deadline in 2020.
So let’s see now…we still have: Alex Verdugo, Keibert Ruiz, Mitchell White (see him headed to the pen soon), Caleb Ferguson (yay!), Dennis Santana, Yadier Alvarez (already being converted to a relief role), DJ Peters (whew), Will Smith (DOUBLE whew, lol), Dustin May, Gavin Lux, Edwin Rios, Tony Gonsolin, Luke Raley, Drew Jackson (Chris Taylor 2.0?), Marshall Kasowski, Cody Thomas, Jared Walker, and what the heck I’ll just throw in 18-year old baseball prodigy Miguel Vargas for good measure.
Think there’s still enough there to go after that elusive 8th-inning Jansen “bridge”? Most likely from the looks of it, but we’ll see…
Right now, payroll’s gotta be pretty damn near the threshold.
Can’t believe we didn’t get them to give us some money back. Oh well, we can always trade Forsythe to the Royals for their pennant push.
Forsythe’s good as gone at this point no matter what. That alone makes me smile with glee!
🙂
Almost forgot, we still have Connor Wong and Cristian Santana (wouldn’t mind seeing him served up in the next deal, especially if that Vargas kid maintains his current pace). If the Dodgers are still bouncing around the idea of going after another starter, wouldn’t mind seeing them bring back one of their own in Eovaldi. Besides, TB has always been one of their better trade partners in recent years despite the failed Forsythe experiment. Willing to give them another chance on that end…
Kershaw, Hill, Maeda, Wood, Stripling, Buehler (that’s 6 starters) with the possibility of Santana, Urias and Ryu by the end of August (that’s 9), not to mention Ferguson (that’s 10). Do we really need to be trying to get guys like Eovaldi, Ross, Happ, Hammels, etc. when (in my opinion) they aren’t any better than what we have already? DeGrom or Syndergaard, OK I’ll listen, but other than those two, I’d rather spend my prospects on a couple of good relievers. I’ll leave it to the front office to figure out how we do any of this and still stay under the cap. It will probably mean adding a prospect or prospects to a deal to get someone to take Forsythe, or convincing someone to take Puig even though he’s hurt. Another possibility that I mentioned yesterday is Hudson who is earning a decent salary. This kind of chess game is where Andrew & Co. excel. Let’s see what their next move is. Hopefully, check mate!
Hey, Eovaldi throws nasty stuff and has been getting stronger since coming back from his 2nd TJ operation. Might cost less than going after either of those two Mets starters (which at this point looks more like they’re both gonna be staying put anyway). Heck, Eovaldi could also factor into the bullpen mix should the Dodgers make postseason play again. Can’t thumb your nose at that possibility, but yeah let’s just get the bullpen fixed already!
😀
You got the scoop here….
No bunion, but Z Pop’d a Bannon….
Ok, that needs a little work….
Was just going to talk about the outfield but y’all beat me to it. Somebody is leaving for pitching in a few days.
Things are looking up.
I’m Glad to have manny, but we didn’t exactly steal him. D-backs gave up a lot less to get JD Martinez last year at the dead line. I guess I was dreaming when I thought the Manny deal would be similar. There has to be at least a couple more deals coming down, shore up the bull pen, and clear some cap space.
Oh, the Dodgers “stole” him alright…FROM ARIZONA AND MILWAUKEE (haha)! And Arizona never really filled the void left by Martinez after he went to Boston this past offseason so that’s that. So just sit tight and let Friedman and the front office “geek squad” continue their creative wheeling-&-dealing in the meantime.
🙂