MLB trade rumors: Phillies front-runners for Manny Machado?

The MLB trade deadline is quickly approaching and the hot stove is heating up around Baltimore Orioles third baseman Manny Machado.

The 25-year-old is having a career-year for the lowly Orioles, who have a record of 24-61. Machado has a slash line of .308/.377/.560 to go with 21 home runs and 59 RBI. He will also be a highly-sought after free agent in the offseason.

With that being known, it would be in Baltimore’s best interest to trade him and get the best package in return. But where could he possibly land?

According to CBS Sports HQ’s MLB analyst Jim Bowden, there are eight teams who have had discussions with Baltimore in the last 10 days about Machado.

However, out of those eight teams, the Philadelphia Phillies and the St. Louis Cardinals seem like the two front-runners for Machado per Bowden.

It has been well-documented that Philadelphia will have a lot of money to spend this upcoming offseason to acquire the likes of Machado or Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper.

But they are currently a contender to either win the National League East or a wild card spot. If that’s the case, why not take a chance to acquire Machado for the stretch run to get into the playoffs?

That chance, however, is risky, because it is not guaranteed Machado will not re-sign wherever he goes. And it also depends on what Baltimore wants in return for him.

In terms of a potential trade package, Bowden said on CBS Sports HQ that the Phillies do want to put top pitching prospect Sixto Sanchez in a deal for Machado. If that is true, the Phillies have other pieces in the minors and players such as J.P. Crawford or Maikel Franco, who they could send to Baltimore.

Additionally, Machado was asked about signing an extension with a new team on Wednesday, before taking on the Phillies.

According to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia, the third baseman responded to the question saying it was a bold and then added this.

“I’m not here to talk about contracts or anything like that during the season. I’m going out there to play baseball and let my agent handle the rest.”

It is obvious that the Orioles are looking to press the reset button for the future and the Phillies seem like a viable partner for them. Let’s see if the two teams can link up on a deal to bring Machado to Citizens Bank Park.