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Zach Britton

Trade News & Rumors: Trade Value Rankings, Dozier, Andujar, Britton

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Fangraphs recently released its annual rankings of the top 50 most valuable contracts in baseball, or the players who would have the highest value in a trade. High atop the list sits a pair of Indians infielders (Jose Ramirez and Francisco Lindor), while Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Carlos Correa round out the top five. The rankings take into account the amount of money each player is owed and the length of his contract in relation to his expected future performance. While the list is top-heavy with young stars (as one might expect), there are a few surprising names later down in the rankings, and a few top prospects even make the list.

Speaking of trades…

  • Twins second baseman Brian Dozier has drawn trade interest from the Brewers, reports Darren Wolfson of KSTP. That comes as little surprise considering the tight NL Central pennant race and the fact that Milwaukee’s second basemen have combined for the third-worst production in baseball to date. However, Wolfson also reports that another (unnamed team) has been “showing stronger interest”. For their part, the Twins (who now sit 8.5 games out of first place in the division) are open to moving Dozier.
  • The Yankees tried to acquire left-hander Brad Hand (who recently went to the Indians), but balked when they were asked to include young third baseman Miguel Andujar in the return, reports Andy Martino of SNY. That’s just one name the club had been targeting in a search for pitcher, but the prices for some of the available names (Cole Hamels and J.A. Happ, for instance), remain “insane” according to Martino.
  • The trade interest in Orioles lefty Zach Britton is “intensifying”, according to Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com. Kubatko says that he expects Britton to be the “next Oriole out the door.” The Braves have thrown their hat into the ring recently, while the Cubs, Astros, Phillies, Red Sox, Yankees, Dodgers and Giants have also been “in the mix”. As Kubatko aptly points out, the removal of Hand from the pool of available names should turn a lot of attention towards Britton.

Trade Interest In Zach Britton Has “Picked Up Steam”

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JULY 20, 10:58am: Add the Braves to the list of teams interested in Britton, Crasnick reports.

9:28am: Baltimore’s “barreling ahead” with its Britton trade talks, Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com tweets. Along with the teams mentioned below (the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox), the Giants are among the clubs in the mix for Britton, according to Crasnick.

JULY 17: If and when the reported trade sending Manny Machado to the Dodgers is formally announced by the teams, the O’s could be quick to turn around and move longtime closer Zach Britton in a separate deal, reports MLB.com’s Brittany Ghiroli (via Twitter). Interest in Britton has “picked up steam” recently, according to Ghiroli.

Britton missed about half of the 2017 season due to a pair of forearm injuries and was out until June 2018 due to a ruptured Achilles tendon that required offseason surgery. And while his first few appearances since coming off the disabled list raised questions about his trade value, he’s looked more impressive lately.

Britton’s past seven appearances have been scoreless, but beyond the bottom-line results, he’s made some encouraging gains in terms of sinker velocity. His ground-ball rate has been a superlative 68.8 percent in that time as well — a noted increase from his earlier outings in which his sinker wasn’t at its most effective levels. That’s not quite to up to Britton’s (quite literally) historic standards, but it remains elite all the same.

Control has still been somewhat of an issue, as he’s surrendered three walks in those seven innings and thrown a first-pitch strike to just 40 percent of the hitters he’s faced along the way. But there’s no denying that Britton has begun to round into form at a most opportune time for an Orioles organization that, at the very least, looks to be a lock to trade the left-hander and fellow impending free agents Machado and Brad Brach.

Britton is earning $12MM in 2018, which will present a roadblock for a number of clubs interested in acquiring his services. As could be the case with the eventual Machado deal, the Orioles might have to include some cash to facilitate the deal and to improve the return they receive for their prized lefty. Britton is still owed about $4.8MM of that $12MM sum through season’s end.

To this point, the Astros, Cubs, Yankees, Phillies and Red Sox have all been connected to Britton in fairly prominent fashion. Surely, as is the case every summer, though, the top relievers on the market will draw at least some level of inquiry from the majority of contenders. Unlike the Machado saga, in which some contending clubs had little need for another infielder on the left side of the diamond, there’s no contending team in baseball that won’t have some interest in bolstering its relief corps. Certainly, some teams will consider it to be a more pressing need than others, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise if as much as a third of the league is tied to Britton before he inevitably finds himself with a new team for the first time in his career.

Trade Rumors: Andujar, Padres, Cards, J. Martinez, Rangers, Reds

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The Yankees were involved in the Manny Machado sweepstakes before the Dodgers acquired him from the Orioles this week, though adding him wouldn’t have led New York to trade rookie third baseman Miguel Andujar. Rather, the Yankees simply would have platooned Andujar at first base or sent him down to the minors while Machado played third, per Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic (subscription required). The bottom line is that the Yankees “have no plans to trade Andujar,” writes Rosenthal, who adds that they recently turned down the Padres when they asked for the 23-year-old in exchange for reliever Brad Hand. San Diego ended up sending Hand to Cleveland in a blockbuster deal on Thursday.

More trade-related material as the July 31 non-waiver deadline approaches…

  • Thanks in large part to his defensive shortcomings, Cardinals first baseman Jose Martinez is seemingly shifting toward a part-time role. As a result, the Cardinals could trade the 29-year-old – perhaps for a left-handed reliever or lefty-hitting position player – Derrick Goold of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch writes. If the Cardinals are going to deal Martinez anywhere, it’ll likely be to a team in the American League, where he’d be able to work as a designated hitter. But it doesn’t seem the Redbirds are going to trade Martinez for Orioles southpaw reliever Zach Britton, whom they’re not pursuing, according to Goold. Since debuting in earnest last year, Martinez has been a minus defender in the outfield and at first base. He has done his best to offset that with his bat, though, having slashed .303/.372/.497 with 27 home runs in 663 plate appearances.
  • Sticking with the Cardinals, it doesn’t appear they’re going to move out any pitchers prior to the deadline. Top starter Carlos Martinez has come up in trade speculation, though president of baseball operations John Mozeliak indicated to Jenifer Langosch of MLB.com and other reporters on Thursday that the team won’t be subtracting from its staff. “For us, the one core we have is pitching,” Mozeliak said. “And to start trying to arbitrage that would have to be a very special-type deal, otherwise it would make no sense to us. None of that has presented itself to me. No one has called me with any great ideas that way. One of the responsibilities is us looking at potential trades, potential partners, but nothing that I’ve looked at would make sense in that regard. I don’t envision us moving pitching.”
  • The Rangers won’t be trading pending free-agent third baseman Adrian Beltre “unless circumstances change drastically,” TR Sullivan of MLB.com writes. Despite Beltre’s age (39), Texas would like to re-sign the franchise great. Beltre, for his part, is a 10-and-5 player who’d be able to block any trade. Meanwhile, fellow aging Ranger Bartolo Colon isn’t drawing much trade interest, Sullivan reports. The 45-year-old has been a serviceable addition for Texas (4.64 ERA, 5.23 K/9, 1.43 BB/9 in 106 2/3 innings), though he’s not going to move the needle for a contender. Infielder/outfielder Jurickson Profar would likely garner attention on the market, on the other hand, and Sullivan doesn’t close the door on the Rangers dealing him. The former star prospect, 25, is amid his best season, having hit .243/.326/.430 with nine home runs, eight steals and just 46 strikeouts in 350 plate appearances. Profar has produced those numbers on a low salary ($1.05MM) and still has two more years of arbitration eligibility left.
  • Reds relievers Raisel Iglesias, Amir Garrett, David Hernandez and Jared Hughes are “in demand” around the league, according to Jon Paul Morosi of MLB.com. Whether the Reds are interested in dealing any of those pitchers is unclear, especially considering all four are controllable beyond this season and the team may push toward contending in 2019. Iglesias was already a hot commodity entering 2018, while Garrett has performed well in his first season as a reliever, and both Hernandez and Hughes have been quality free-agent pickups for Cincy.

Duquette: Machado Trade Marks Beginning Of Rebuild

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The trade of Manny Machado to the Dodgers will be the first of many for the Orioles, as executive vice president/general manager Dan Duquette told reporters in a conference call Wednesday night that the Orioles are set to embark on a rebuild of both their on-field product and their baseball operations and scouting staffs (links via Jon Meoli of the Baltimore Sun, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com and Rich Dubroff of Baltimore Baseball.com).

Duquette plainly used the word “rebuild” five times over a 20-minute conference call, Meoli notes — something which he’d previously been reluctant to do. The veteran GM called rebuilding a “grueling process” but also made clear that there’s a consensus among the front office on the need to do so, as well as support from owner Peter Angelos and his sons, John and Lou.

Critically, Duquette acknowledged that the team’s complete lack of a presence in Latin America has served as a roadblock to maintaining a competitive organization and declared that the Orioles will “become more active on the international market and invest in our facilities and strengthen our overall baseball operation.” As Meoli points out, the Orioles are still the only team in all of baseball who’ve yet to sign an international prospect on this year’s market (which opened on July 2), according to Baseball America’s signing tracker. Baltimore’s operational and philosophical changes, though will extend beyond an increased commitment to the international market.

“It’s a multi-dimensional plan,” said Duquette of the Orioles’ rebuild. “You have to do a number of things well to compete in professional sports, but we had identified the areas that we needed to improve in — technology, international scouting facilities, the draft, strengthening our analytics, investing in our international scouting, investing in more front office staff to be more in line with our competitors, expanding our nutrition and wellness resources at every level of the organization.”

Though that presents a clear long-term approach to upgrading that’ll require years to fully implement, there are also a number of pressing issues more immediately facing the Orioles. Namely, the front office has fewer than two weeks to determine who else from the roster they’ll trade prior to the non-waiver trade deadline in an early effort to continue to restock their farm system.

“We’re going to take a look at trading the veteran players…the ones that are nearing free agency,” said Duquette. Certainly, it seems that impending free agents Zach Britton and Brad Brach are virtual locks to be moved. Veteran outfielder Adam Jones is also a candidate, though his 10-and-5 rights grant him the power to veto any trade.

The question beyond that, however, is one of whether the Orioles will undergo a more significant roster overhaul. Starters like Kevin Gausman (controlled through 2020) and Dylan Bundy (through 2021) would almost certainly fetch significant returns on a trade market that currently has a dearth of controllable arms. Setup man Mychal Givens, too, is controlled through 2021, has already drawn some trade interest and would command a notable return in his own right. Second baseman Jonathan Schoop, meanwhile, is only controlled through 2019, though his value is probably down after hitting .229/.263/.389 through the season’s first half.

To be clear, there has yet to be any indication that the Orioles will consider moving talent from that group. But with the O’s unlikely to catch up to teams like the Yankees and Red Sox over the next couple of seasons as they restructure the organization, there’s certainly a case to be made that the Orioles should be looking at moving more than just their impending wave of free agents as they look to return to contention in one of the game’s toughest divisions.

However the Orioles proceed, Duquette, whose contract expires at season’s end, made clear that he hopes to remain on atop the team’s baseball operations stucture:“Like I’ve said before, my heart’s in Baltimore and I’d like to make the Orioles into a top, contending organization again.”

Trade Rumblings: Hand, Dodgers, Dozier, Heaney, Skaggs

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Though the Phillies lost out to the Dodgers in the Manny Machado sweepstakes, they’re far from done looking for upgrades to their ballclub. Dennis Lin of The Athletic tweets that the club is interested in Padres reliever Brad Hand. As Lin notes, there are certainly many other clubs in competition for the lefty’s services; he’s easily one of the most talented bullpen arms in the game. As one might expect, however, San Diego’s asking price for Hand remains very high, as he can be controlled through the 2021 season at a very reasonable cost. The Yankees, Indians and Cubs are among the other teams who’ve been connected to Hand, who owns a 3.03 ERA and 13.20 K/9 on the season.

More rumors and rumblings from around the league…

  • The Dodgers aren’t done yet, either, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports reports, as they’ll now pursue a reliever to help closer Kenley Jansen at the back end of their bullpen. It’s worth noting that Los Angeles will sit just a few million dollars below the luxury tax threshold following the acquisition of Machado, so any bullpen additions will likely come cheap, or send a player (such as Logan Forsythe) back to a trade partner in order to offset some of financial burden involved. In addition to Hand, Jeurys Familia, Zach Britton, Kirby Yates, Craig Stammen and Raisel Iglesias are just a few names who could be available.
  • Also in the aftermath of the Machado sweepstakes, the Brewers are left looking to acquire an infield upgrade. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reports that they’re expected to explore trading for Twins second baseman Brian Dozier. With Minnesota all but out of the the AL Central race already and Dozier set to become a free agent at season’s end, he makes plenty of sense as a potential trade target for the Brewers, despite a down season so far. The Brewers are also expected to explore pitching upgrades, Rosenthal adds.
  • Also from Rosenthal, the Angels aren’t likely to trade young starters Andrew Heaney and Tyler Skaggs, despite previous reports that the club might consider doing so. The Angels see the two young southpaws as key components during a 2019 season in which they hope to contend. Rather, Rosenthal notes, the club is more interested in trading some of their relievers (he lists Jose Alvarez, Blake Parker, Cam Bedrosian and Justin Anderson), though they’d want a good enough return to justify giving up controllable players.

Cubs Interested In Zach Britton, Brad Hand

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The Cubs have been in contact with the Orioles about closer Zach Britton, Bruce Levine of 670 The Score reports.  Padres closer Brad Hand is also on the Cubs’ “wish list” for potential bullpen upgrades.

At first glance, the relief corps doesn’t stand out as a glaring need for Chicago, as the Cubs’ relievers have posted generally strong numbers overall (aside from ranking 29th amongst bullpens in BB/9).  Brandon Morrow has quieted the critics by pitching very well as the Cubs’ closer, and he has also been generally healthy, spending only a 10-day minimum stint on the DL in June due to back spasms.

Still, even the most loaded of teams will still scan the market for an extra bullpen arm, and the Cubs have a particular need for ninth-inning depth given Morrow’s lengthy injury history.  It’s worth noting that Chicago has yet to use Morrow on three consecutive days (though he has pitched three times in four days on multiple occasions), and only one of his 35 outings has been longer than an inning.

Morrow is signed through 2019 with a club option for the 2020 season, so adding Hand (signed through 2020 with a club option for 2021) would give the Cubs with a long-term back-of-the-bullpen tandem that would rival any in the game.  Britton is only signed through the remainder of this season, and thus would come at a lower price tag in trade talks, though there is enough interest in his services that the Orioles can ask for a healthy prospect return.

Chicago is one of eight contending teams who have checked in on Britton, according to Levine.  We already know the identity of some of these other teams, as past reports have linked the Red Sox, Yankees, Indians, Astros, and Phillies to Britton’s market.  Hand has also drawn attention from other teams, with the Yankees also known to have interest in the left-hander.

Britton didn’t make his 2018 debut until June 12 due to offseason Achilles tendon surgery, though given his track record, he only had to show that he was both healthy and reasonably effective to earn himself a spot as one of the deadline’s most sought-after trade pieces.  Through 14 2/3 innings, Britton has a 3.68 ERA, 7.98 K/9, and 62.2% grounder rate, with a hefty 25% homer rate and a 5.52 BB/9 standing out as red flags.  He has thrown scoreless outings in 13 of his 15 appearances this season, with all of his six earned runs allowed coming over two rough outings (and 1 1/3 innings) against the Braves and Mariners.

It’s hard to really pass judgement based on such a small sample size, though Britton has at least looked solid, if obviously not at the level of his past dominance from 2014-16.  His average fastball velocity of 94.3 mph is down from the last two years (when he cracked the 96mph threshold), though Britton has been increasingly throwing harder in recent outings, as one might expect as he shakes off the rust.

Hand, meanwhile, has been outstanding in his second year as the Padres’ closer.  The lefty owns a 3.05 ERA, 13.2 K/9, and 4.33 K/BB rate over 44 1/3 innings, numbers that just earned him his second consecutive All-Star selection.  Hand’s 13.8% swinging-strike rate and 93.8mph average fastball are both career highs.

Latest On Manny Machado

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As a whirlwind of rumors continues to surround Manny Machado, suitors for the All-Star seem to fall in and out of the mix by the day, and frontrunners seem to emerge and recede like horses at the racetrack. Last we heard earlier today, the Orioles were beginning to narrow their search, with the Phillies and Brewers among the finalists. But a flurry of whispers have given the situation a slightly different outlook over the past hour. Here’s what we’ve heard…

  • Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic tweets that the Dodgers remain in the mix for Machado, while the Brewers and Phillies continue to be in “consistent contact” with the Orioles. The Yankees, however, reportedly seem “less involved”. Rosenthal notes that the situation is hardly predictable considering the politics of Baltimore’s front office at present. Last we heard, the Orioles were targeting Dustin May and Gavin Lux in talks with the Dodgers, neither of whom figured to be available.
  • Correspondingly, Bob Nightengale of USA Today Sports tweets that rival executives believe that the Dodgers will acquire Machado, though the wording of his tweet is somewhat confusing and leaves room for interpretation.
  • In talks with the Phillies, the Orioles showed some interest in recently-promoted starter Enyel De Los Santos, Jon Heyman of Fancred hears. Unsurprisingly, Philadelphia prefers not to include him (probably in part because he’s now contributing in the majors). Heyman quotes Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports as listing Adonis Medina, Jhailyn Ortiz, Ranger Suarez, Arquimedes Gamboa and Franklyn Kilome as other names of interest to the Orioles.
  • In a video for FOX Sports, Rosenthal says the Orioles would prefer to separate Machado and reliever Zach Britton in trade discussions, believing they can maximize their return by moving them in separate deals. That could be in part because the Astros (who are not likely suitors for Machado) have interest in Britton.

Trade Chatter: Britton, Merrifield, Mets, Beltre, Braves

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Zach Britton’s most recent outing was an encouraging one for scouts, writes Jon Heyman of Fancred in his latest notes column. One scout tells Heyman that the Orioles’ closer was finally beginning to look like himself in a recent save against the Yankees. Heyman notes that Britton was throwing 96-98 mph, although data from both Fangraphs and Brooks Baseball isn’t quite as bullish as that scout’s radar gun was. Certainly, though, Britton’s past few outings have been encouraging. In five scoreless frames, he’s averaged a slightly improved 95 mph on his heater and posted a strong 66.7 percent grounder rate with four strikeouts against one walk. Britton has thrown a first-pitch strike to just 41 percent of the hitters he’s faced in that time, and his ground-ball rate, velocity and swinging-strike rate are all still shy of his peak levels. Nonetheless, he’s certainly trending in the right direction — a welcome sight for the Orioles. Heyman notes that the Astros are believed to once again have interest in Britton after the Orioles backed out of a trade involving him last season, which would’ve sent Colin Moran and a Double-A outfielder to Baltimore.

Some more Thursday night trade rumblings…

  • Heyman also notes that he’s heard the Red Sox mentioned in connection with Royals second baseman Whit Merrifield. The 29-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from the Phillies and from the Brewers already, and the Sox would be a logical addition to that market, depending on the status of Dustin Pedroia. As Heyman notes, Merrifield is particularly enticing for the Sox given his minimal salary and their proximity to the top tier of luxury tax penalization. He’s shown, too, that he can play a number of positions, which would make him ideal for a utility role if the Sox get everyone healthy. That said, there’s no characterization of particularly strong interest in the report, the Sox have a thin farm system, and the Royals are under no urgency to trade Merrifield, who is controlled through 2022. Bullpen help has been rumored to be Boston’s primary focus on the trade market so far.
  • One more from Heyman, who notes that the Mets aren’t especially anxious to listen to offers on lefty Steven Matz. New York will certainly entertain offers on its entire roster, as they’re at least listening on Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, but it sounds like Matz is closer to that pair than to the more available Zack Wheeler. The report also indicates that offers for Asdrubal Cabrera, to this point, have been underwhelming and that the Mets have actually received some inquiries about Jose Bautista, who was hitting .230/.389/.425 in 144 PAs for the Mets before homering in tonight’s contest.
  • Sticking with the Mets, Mike Puma of the New York Post reports that the team actually hasn’t received much in the way of inquiries on eiher deGrom or Syndergaard as of late (Twitter link). The general sense that the asking price would be overwhelming could be a factor; as Puma terms it, some teams may have sticker shock “without even seeing the sticker.” Puma also tweets, though, that the Mets are “confident” they’ll find a trade partner for Cabrera. That, he adds, would open a spot for 26-year-old Jeff McNeil — a potentially late-blooming prospect who has batted a combined .346/.417/.634 with 18 homers in 336 plate appearances between Double-A and Triple-A.
  • Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News takes a look at the situation in which the Rangers find themselves with Adrian Beltre. The third baseman has full no-trade rights and has not yet given indication about whether he’d prefer to play out the season with a contender, though he has said he wants to play with the Rangers again in 2019. “His value to the organization is above how we would normally consider trade acquisitions,” GM Jo Daniels tells Grant. “For us to consider anything, it’s got to be mutually beneficial, good for all parties involved.” Beltre, 39, hasn’t shown much pop but is hitting .288/.349/.401 on the season. He’s been DHing more of late in an effort to keep his legs healthy.
  • Though the Braves have a number of wants on the trade market — specifically upgrades to the pitching staff — they’re reluctant to trade any prospects of note for a rental piece, reports Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic within his latest notes column (subscription required). Rosenthal also notes that a right-handed-hitting center field option to pair with Ender Inciarte would be appealing, though Inciarte’s glovework is so good that it lessens the blow of his 2018 struggles against lefties.

Phillies Among Teams With Interest In Zach Britton

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The Phillies have joined a growing list of clubs with interest in Orioles lefty Zach Britton, according to Jim Salisbury of NBC Sports Philadelphia. It does not appear, however, that there’s any particular momentum toward a deal.

Quite a few organizations surely see Britton as a potential deadline target. We’ve heard recently that the Red Sox and Yankees are among them. There has also been quite a lot of chatter surrounding the possibility that he’ll be included in a deal involving Orioles star Manny Machado, another player that the Phillies have interest in.

There’s no reasonable way to handicap the chase for Britton at this point. After all, most contenders need relief pitching and the southpaw has a history of high-leverage excellence. He’s a rental player earning a hefty $12MM salary, which certainly limits his value but hardly means a trade can’t be sorted out.

The real question in the pursuit of Britton is how teams will truly evaluate his present ability level. He dealt with injuries for much of last year and only recently returned from offseason surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon, meaning the recent track record is relatively thin.

Through 13 appearances this season for Britton, there have been some worrying indications. He’s handing out about five free passes per nine innings while recording a pedestrian 7.8 K/9 and has allowed six earned runs through 12 2/3 frames. The O’s have only asked Britton to work back to back days on two occasions, and only once went to him for more than three outs, so they are handling him with some care.

On the other hand, he’s surely still getting his feet back under him. All of the earned runs have come in just two appearances, with three of his seven walks attributed to his first time taking the hill this year. Britton’s sinker is still drawing grounders, though he’s “only” getting them at a 60.6% rate — a figure that’s well above league average but isn’t quite to par for a hurler who generated worm burners on more than three of every four balls in play for the preceding four seasons. His swinging-strike rate is up to 12.9%. Most intriguingly, Britton’s velocity has trended upward over his month of MLB action this year.

Notably, the market is not exactly loaded with alternatives. There are some high-end lefty relievers with future control rights that might be had, but only at huge prices. The best alternative rental pieces are pitchers like Zach Duke of the Twins, Jake Diekman of the Rangers, and Jerry Blevins of the Mets, none of whom has an established ceiling nearly so lofty as Britton’s.

Red Sox Have Checked In On Manny Machado, Have Interest In Zach Britton

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8:49pm: Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com tweets that the Sox did indeed check in on Machado, but there’s “nothing substantial” to those talks at this time. Boston, however, “seems to have definite interest” in Britton.

8:39pm: The field of teams reported to be showing interest in Orioles shortstop Manny Machado is growing, as both Peter Schmuck of the Baltimore Sun and Rich Dubroff of PressboxOnline.com (Twiter link) report that the Red Sox have recently reached out to the Orioles regarding Machado. Schmuck notes that Boston’s interest is seemingly a response to recent reports that the Yankees have again displayed some renewed interest.

The Red Sox don’t represent a perfect fit for Machado by any means, with Xander Bogaerts thriving at shortstop (.277/.351/.512) and Rafael Devers slotted in at third base. Devers, though, has struggled to the tune of a .290 OBP, and while the Sox certainly wouldn’t part with him for a Machado rental, Boston could in theory add Machado and send Devers to Triple-A Pawtucket for further development. Devers, after all, is still just 21 years of age and only played nine games in Triple-A before ascending to the Majors last year.

To this point, it’s not clear whether Boston’s interest constitutes anything more than due diligence, and there’s not yet anything to suggest that they’re embarking upon an aggressive pursuit of Machado. The Dodgers, Brewers and, to a lesser extent, the Diamondbacks were said to be the most most aggressive parties on the Machado front as recently as this afternoon, with the Cubs and Cardinals both now said to be largely out of the mix.

As ever, it’s worth bearing in mind that most contending clubs will at least gauge the price tag on most of the top trade pieces available. Fancred’s Jon Heyman recently reported that the Red Sox have been scouting Baltimore’s Zach Britton in recent weeks anyhow, and it’s fairly logical to expect that if they were inquiring with the Orioles on Britton, they’d at the very least check in on the Machado price tag. Players of Machado’s caliber are rarely available on the summer trade market, after all, and acquiring him represents something of a rare opportunity for any contender — particularly one in a tightly contested division race such as the current AL East.

Boston is a particularly difficult fit for the Machado, though, given the money he’s owed through season’s end and the luxury tax penalization the Sox would incur if payroll hiked much further north. Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic reported at the time of the Steve Pearce trade that the money the Blue Jays sent to the Red Sox in that deal helped keep Boston’s luxury tax ledger just south of $237MM.

That’s an important figure, because despite the fact that much of the focus with regard to the luxury tax is placed on the initial $197MM barrier, there are increasingly steep penalties for exceeding that threshold by more than $40MM. Namely, the Sox would be taxed at a hefty 42.5 percent clip for any amount over that $237MM mark and, more significantly, would have their top pick in next June’s amateur draft knocked back by 10 spots. Machado is currently owed about $7.05MM through season’s end, and the Red Sox’ luxury tax payroll (per Cot’s Contracts) sat at $235.325MM before even accounting for the $1.5MM they took on in the Pearce trade. That figure is an estimate, of course, it nonetheless demonstrates that the Sox are only narrowly south of that threshold.

It’s certainly possible that the Sox have genuine interest in adding Machado to the mix, recognizing that they’re in a close battle for the division and that every win will prove crucial to avoiding a one-game Wild Card playoff. However, given Boston’s luxury tax situation, an already-crowded left side of the infield and a thin farm system, it’s difficult to see them emerging as a top suitor for Machado.

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