The Manny Machado Sweepstakes is raging

Manny Machado turned 26 on Friday; he is in the prime of his career, and he knows the best season of his life. The Baltimore Orioles have the worst record in baseball, and not much hope to be better anytime soon. It seems certain that by the end of this month, perhaps even by the end of the week, Machado will be traded. But where? Let's go to the good old rumor.

Last weekend, Machado was elected to his fourth team of stars. His sixth trained observers throughout the season – no doubt from sources who know – seem to have given up. the possibility that the Orioles can hang on Machado and risk losing it for free will this winter. ( Here's a metaphor of cross-sport slightly confusing to sum up their progress.) It's probably fine with him, even though he's trying to be diplomatic about the subject. Uncertainty, although in this quote, he seems to forget half-way that he is supposed to pretend not to know whether he's leaving or not

"I have not heard anything ". Machado said. "I'll probably be the last to hear, but things might change, or I could probably stay here longer, for more than two weeks to come." But who knows? I'm just blessed and happy that I'm chosen to be a starter and I can continue to do my job here as an Oriole and try to win more games before leaving, just try to enjoy every moment that I can with my teammates and try to take this season as it is. "

The weekend saw a flood of unusually detailed reports, generally concordant on the ranking in the race to rent Machado, which is probably a good sign that the Baltimore front office offers late. Let's see where we are.

• The Baltimore Sun ranks the current offers, from best to worst, such as Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Phillies, Braves, Indians and Cubs, with all the offers "Very "close to each other, which is something you would do if you want to encourage a team to throw one more piece.
• MASN's order of pbadage is quite similar: Dodgers, Diamondbacks, Brewers, Phillies, Braves, and According to MASN, the Indians have made an offer but this is not competitive.
• Ken Rosenthal says that the Dodgers and Brewers are the most serious bidders. Now with the active Indians.
• Jon Paul Morosi says the Dodgers and Brewers are the first two, and the Brewers' badets have "best placed" them to close the deal.

The playmakers, and their interest makes sense only after losing the shut-down to Corey Seager at the end of the elbow surgery season. Machado could be purely a rental in Los Angeles, since they signed Seager and Justin Turner until 2020. Arizona, too, could use Machado in recent months, given that they or the Dodgers want to avoid the game – or missing on the playoffs altogether. The Dodgers and Diamondbacks could also be motivated to reach an agreement by dismissing Machado from the other.

The Brewers are an interesting case, with some echoes of one of the most successful rentals in recent history. Saturday marked the tenth anniversary of CC Sabathia's exchange with Milwaukee, a move that sealed the end of a 26-year playoff season. Machado could be a crucial piece in a competitive Central NL, where the Brewers now lead the Cubs by just two games.

Whoever gets it, Machado will make them significantly better. He currently strikes .313 (12th in the MLB) and beats .560 (11th), with 21 HR (tied for the 10th) and 60 RBIs (11th). And because he is a pure tenant – he has given no hint that he intends to do anything other than hitting the free market – Orioles fans are likely to be surprised and disappointed by the lean appearance of the return. Baseball is not it fun?