Sign/trade Manny Machado

I put “sign” in here, because the Orioles should put their best offer for Machado on the table right now – which apparently has not been done yet. And, maybe, if I get No. 1 done – signing Machado’s buddy Schoop – it would make it more enticing for Machado to stay put if the money was right in Baltimore. But let’s not fool ourselves here, either. Machado is one of baseball’s best young stars, he’s a free agent after the 2018 season and he is going to get a huge payday – probably in the $300 million range – if he simply stays healthy and plays well for one more season. And the Orioles won’t pay $300 million for one player. The time to lock up Machado was a couple years ago. That ship has sailed, and so the Orioles need to deal him since it’s not realistic that he’s going to sign an extension without at least testing the free-agent waters. So, I stop playing games and tell interested teams that I want their best offers in the next few days. And I choose one; hopefully one with high-end, controllable pitching included. Dealing Machado will sting – the defense, the lineup and at the turnstiles — but sometimes tough decisions have to be made for the good of the future.

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