Trade saga surrounding four-time All-Star shortstop Manny Machado is finally over. Baltimore Orioles agreed to send Manny Machado to Los Angeles Dodgers in exchange for five Minor League prospects: outfielder Yusniel Diaz, right-hander Dean Kremer, third baseman Rylan Bannon, righty Zach Pop and third baseman Breyvic Valera. The deal was made official on Wednesday night.
Welcome to Los Angeles, Manny Machado! #Dodgers pic.twitter.com/tPgopiPWv6
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) July 19, 2018
“We viewed Manny Machado as a big difference-maker,” – said Dodgers general manager Farhan Zaidi said.
“Our first hope is we have a division-winning roster,” – he added. “Any time you have a chance to add an impact player in a tight division race, that’s something you have to look at closely.“
Machado is off to a great start of the 2018 season, having 24 homers and 65 RBIs. However, that didn’t help Orioles much since they are currently last in AL East with 28-69 record. Considering the fact that Machado is entering the last year of his deal, Orioles decided to hit the reset button and start rebuilding, unveiling to give him a big extension.
“Obviously, it’s a bittersweet day for our organization,”- said Orioles’ executive vice president of baseball operations, Dan Duquette. “We watched Manny grow up in our franchise the past eight years. We all know what an exceptional talent he is, from the great plays that he made to his elite hitting. He’s always going to be an important part of our club’s history.”
“We tried to maintain a competitive club this year, and that’s why we resisted the offers we had in the offseason to trade Manny,” – he added. “But when it became obvious that it was time to look to the future, trading Manny is the first step in the plan to rebuild our ballclub.”
Manny Machado was drafted by the Orioles in the 2010 MLB Draft as the third overall pick and made his debut in the majors three years later. During his time with the team, he was named All-Star on four occasions, while winning two Gold Glove awards and one Platinum Glove award. Machado’s MLB career stats include .283 batting average, 162 home runs, and 471 RBIs.
