By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Last week, Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports reported that while the Baltimore Orioles weren't shopping star third baseman/shortstop Manny Machado, unidentified teams had called the Orioles to see if they could potentially ignite trade talks involving Machado. As it turns out, the Phillies appear to have been one of those teams.
According to Heyman, there is a belief around the league that the Phillies were one of the teams that called the Orioles to gauge their interest in potentially moving Machado:
The Phillies are among teams believed to have checked in with the Orioles on Machado.
While the Phillies have the prospect depth to become serious suitors if the Orioles did decide to start shopping Machado, it doesn't seem likely that the Orioles will do that. Orioles general manager Dan Duquette's most recent radio appearance left most with the feeling that the Orioles plan to try to contend again in 2018. Dan Connolly of BaltimoreBaseball.com went as far as saying that even if the team parted with some key pieces at the trade deadline, he doesn't think managing partner Peter Angelos would agree to trade Machado.
One source that Heyman spoke to admitted that the Phillies would probably be a more attractive fit for Machado in a year, when he can be a free-agent:
But one source with Philadelphia said Machado is a more realistic option for a year from now, as a free agent, because he has only a year to go for free agency, the Phillies are a year away from contending and they aren’t opposed to giving talented Maikel Franco another year to prove himself even after his rough 2017 season.
If Machado reaches free-agency a year from now, the Phillies front-office is well connected to him. Current Phillies president Andy MacPhail was in charge of the Orioles front-office when the team drafted him in 2010. Current Phillies general manager Matt Klentak and assistant general manager Ned Rice were in the Orioles front-office when Machado was drafted.
Should he reach free-agency next year, Machado would likely price his way out of Baltimore. The Phillies possess the league's most financial flexibility, which is rather scary when you consider they are capable of putting together one of the league's top five payrolls. While the New York Yankees won the weekend by acquiring Giancarlo Stanton, it may have made the Phillies path to signing either Machado or Bryce Harper next offseason easier.
