The biggest trade deadline prize continues to appear to be Orioles' Manny Machado, a two-time gold glover in the midst of a personal best offensive season in the prime of his career.
Despite his soon to be expiring contract, reports are that Baltimore is asking for a lot in exchange for their top asset.
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The teams in contact with the O's for his services appear to be the Dodgers, Phillies, Diamondbacks, Brewers and Cardinals — all NL squads. And according to USA Today's Bob Nightengale, Los Angeles is considered to be the favorite as Orioles scouts have been frequently seen watching the Dodgers' top prospects of late.
The Dodgers' need is similar to the Phillies' need, with a injuries to shortstops Corey Seager and J.P. Crawford respectively requiring each team to look at gathering reinforcements.
It is completely possible that the trade occurs in the next few weeks — potentially before the MLB All Star break — due to the strong and early developing market.
Former big league GM Jim Bowden outlined a potential Phillies for Machado trade on The Athletic, which he calls one of the six trades National League contenders should make before the July 31 deadline. Here's what his trade looked like:
| Phillies get | Orioles get |
| Manny Machado, 3B/SS | J.P. Crawford, SS |
| Zach Britton, CP | Adonis Medina, SP |
| Cole Irvin, SP | |
| Connor Seabold, SP |
The deal listed above checks all the boxes for the Orioles wants in a deal: controllable starting pitching and a replacement for Machado.
Medina is the second best pitching prospect in the Phils system, behind Sixto Sanchez, and would be the centerpiece of the aforementioned deal.
The inclusion of Britton is interesting, as the Phillies have had mixed success from the back of their bullpen this sesson. However he has struggled of late so perhaps the change of scenery and the expiring $12 million on Britton's contract might help the Phillies in negotiations.
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