By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor
The Los Angeles Dodgers may have pulled ahead in the Manny Machado sweepstakes, but the Philadelphia Phillies have not yet given up acquiring the four-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove Award winner.
The Phillies remain "aggressively motivated," with internal confidence remaining "high" they can acquire Machado from the Baltimore Orioles, according to philly.com's Scott Lauber.
Read: Heyman: Dodgers Pull Ahead as 'Leading Contender' for Machado
Fancred's Jon Heyman was the first to report on Tuesday that the Dodgers have jumped ahead of the Phillies in the Machado sweepstakes. While the Phillies are reportedly now willing to part ways with No. 2 prospect Adonis Medina in the deal, the Dodgers are now offering their top outfield prospect, Yusniel Diaz.
If Dodgers complete Machado deal (and they lead), they could move Taylor to 2B, Muncy to 1B and Bellinger to the stacked OF. That’d be quite a lineup. Also, if top OF prospect Yusniel Diaz is in deal, their rep as stingy with prospects goes out the window.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 17, 2018
It is expected that Machado will be dealt before the second-half of the season commences on Friday.