Manny Machado rumors about trade deadlines: Dodgers, the most serious contenders of the Brewers for Orioles star

Orioles forward Manny Machado will almost certainly be traded before the July 31 deadline, and as we head to that vital date on the baseball calendar, rumors are rife. Here is the latest buzz of Ken Rosenthal's Machado of The Athletic:

Machado is of course in his year of walking. thus enjoying a year-long career on the plate (160 OPS + with 21 homers in 88 matches), as well as manning-shortstop on a daily basis. Since the Orioles are terrible and have no chance of re-signing him, he is on the block.

Regarding the details of Rosenthal's report, the Dodgers and Brewers make sense as favorites. The Dodgers have of course lost the short-cut franchise Corey Seager to Tommy John's surgery, and this in tandem with the lack of production at the second base left them slim in the infield. Adding Machado and installing him briefly ( Machado said he wanted to stay at the shortstop rather than returning to the third base ) would allow LA to move Chris Taylor at the second base and plug this hole.

At another level, Machado certainly seems to want to test the market, but the resources of the Dodgers and the charms of Southern California could allow them to make the most of what equates to an exclusive window of negotiation with Machado. Again, it seems unlikely that Machado will sign an extension with any team, but the Dodgers may be in the best position to persuade him otherwise.

The Brewers, meanwhile, are locked in a deadly fight with the favored Cubs in NL Central. Milwaukee is a contender with or without Machado, but it should be noted that this season Brewers shortstops (mainly Orlando Arcia) combined to beat only .201 / .256 / .302. Machado would obviously remedy this lack in a very direct way. Although we do not have the habit of considering the Brewers as major players in recent years, keep in mind that during the winter, they signed Lorenzo Cain and took part in Christian Yelich, among others. They behave very much like contenders these days, and it's not difficult to see them as very active in the Machado talks.