Red Sox showing interest in Manny Machado, per report

We’ve been pretty desperate for some Red Sox news around these parts, and we got a juicy report from MLB Network’s Jon Morosi on Friday night about our favorite team. It seems extremely unlikely, but according to the reporter, Boston is continuing to show interest in working out a trade for Orioles star infielder Manny Machado.

I don’t think I can stress enough how unlikely it is that this trade actually happens. There are just too many factors working against this possibility. For one thing, basically every team is (or at least should be) interested in Machado and the Red Sox simply don’t have the farm system to compete in that kind of arms race. Furthermore, the Orioles have made it clear that they don’t want to trade him to the Yankees, and while New York may be a slightly different class I can’t see them being eager to deal him to Boston either. Then there’s the fact that Machado and the Red Sox have some bad blood, though I think this one is easy to overcome, at least relative to the other hurdles. Morosi points out that the deal could be slightly more likely because Dave Dombrowski and Dan Duquette worked together 30 years ago, but that won’t mean anything to Baltimore owner Peter Angelos who seems set against helping a division rival. For what it’s worth, Rob Bradford of WEEI says that Boston’s interest is being overstated.

While I think this is unlikely for a multitude of reasons, let’s indulge this rumor for a quick minute because it is fun to think about. For one thing, the Red Sox seemingly don’t have anywhere to play Machado. If there is one spot on the roster that likely doesn’t need much help, it’s the left side of the infield. Though, as I wrote not too long ago, Machado is the type of player who you make that kind of change for. The young infielder is dynamic with the glove and can play shortstop or third base. His bat wasn’t all that impressive in 2017, but all of the signs point towards him bouncing back in a big way. When he’s right, Machado is an elite player who is just entering his age-25 season. There would be massive risk here considering he is just one year from free agency, but there could be massive reward if he came in and enjoyed himself in the city. Whether or not whatever package — and likely the departure of Xander Bogaerts, whether it be in this deal or a separate one — it took to land Machado is worth that risk is in the eye of the beholder. I would probably say it is, but there’s a chance the package demanded from Baltimore would be a little too steep for my blood.

Either way, I would be absolutely floored if it happened and it seems almost impossible. Still, I’ve been wrong many times before and crazier things have happened in this league. The Orioles are in a weird spot and it seems like there’s enough smoke that Machado might actually be traded. It would be negligence for the Red Sox to not at least keep tabs on what that market may look like at any given moment.