4:02 pm | July 18, 2018 | Go to Source | Author:
Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Manny Machado has been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a package of five prospects, sources told ESPN’s Jerry Crasnick, confirming multiple reports.
The players Los Angeles will be sending to Baltimore include outfielder Yusniel Diaz, right-hander Dean Kremer, third baseman Ryan Bannon, right-handed reliever Zach Pop and third baseman Breyvic Valera.
Diaz, a 21-year-old Double-A outfielder, hit two home runs in Sunday’s All-Star Futures Game, becoming just the second player in the game’s history to homer twice. Alfonso Soriano is the only other player to hit two home runs in the Futures Game, doing so in 1999, the first year the game was played. On the season, Diaz is hitting .314 with a .905 OPS and has tallied six home runs, 30 RBIs and 36 runs scored.
Kremer, 22, is 6-3 with a 3.03 ERA and 125 strikeouts in 86 innings this season for Double-A Tulsa.
Bannon, a third baseman for the Class-A Rancho Cucamonga Quakes, is hitting .296 with 20 home runs and 61 RBIs.
Pop has spent time in Class A and Double A this season, compiling a 1.04 ERA over 43.1 innings while striking out 47 and allowing just a .168 opponents’ batting average.
Valera, 26, is batting .284 with six home runs this season.
The deal hit a snag earlier Wednesday, according to multiple reports, with the Orioles having some issues regarding the physical of one of the prospects Los Angeles had agreed to send.
According to Fancred, the issue was not related to Diaz, the centerpiece of the deal.
Machado, 26, is off to the best start of his career offensively, tallying several career-high figures for the season’s first half, including home runs (23), RBIs (64), OBP (.384) and OPS (.950).
In his first year as a full-time shortstop in the majors, Machado was voted as the starter for the American League in this year’s All-Star Game.
A Platinum Glove Award winner and three-time All-Star at third base, Machado moved back to his original position this season.
Machado was limited to 82 games in 2014, but he has played at least 156 games in each of the past three seasons. He has hit at least 30 home runs and 30 doubles in each of those three seasons, making him one of just three players — and the only one in the AL — to reach both of those marks every season since 2015.
A first-round pick in 2010 (third overall), Machado is slated to become a free agent after the 2018 season.
Regarded as the prize of this summer’s trade market, the Orioles discussed possible trade combinations for Machado with the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Atlanta Braves, Arizona Diamondbacks and Cleveland Indians.
They had extensive conversations with the Phillies, whose front office is loaded with former Orioles officials who were involved in the drafting and developing of Machado in 2010 for Baltimore — including president Andy MacPhail, general manager Matt Klentak and assistant GM Ned Rice.
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