Perhaps the Phillies don't match up well with the Orioles in Machado trade

By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor

For much of the MLB Winter Meetings, the Philadelphia Phillies have been painted as one of the best fits for Manny Machado if Baltimore Orioles do indeed decide to trade their superstar 3B/SS. The Phillies have the financial wherewithal to sign Machado to what will likely be a record-setting extension, and a strong farm system to match. But it is worth considering that the Phillies may not be as good of a fit for Machado as some perceive them to be.

According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Chicago White Sox may be the favorite to land the 25-year-old:

In a surprising turn of events, the rebuilding Chicago White Sox emerged Wednesday as the most aggressive suitor for Orioles third baseman Manny Machado, according to major-league sources.

The White Sox want to land Machado and and sign him long-term before he becomes a free agent at the end of the season, sources said. However, the possibility also exists that the White Sox could flip Machado to another club — most likely the New York Yankees — and secure additional prospects for what already is one of the game’s best farm systems, if not the best.

That the White Sox, a big-market team that has a strong farm system, are making a push for a Hall of Fame caliber talent in Machado isn't surprising. It's not even really that surprising that they appear to be considering acquiring him to either be the face or their franchise, or to net them more pieces from a team like the Yankees.

What is surprising – though perhaps it shouldn't be given what the Orioles are seeking in return – is that when Rosenthal listed the four other teams that the Orioles have talked to about Machado, the Phillies weren't one:

The Orioles, who seek two young, controllable starting pitchers for Machado, also have spoken about their three-time All-Star with the Yankees, San Francisco Giants, Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals, sources said.

This doesn't necessarily mean the Orioles haven't talked to the Phillies, though it feels noteworthy that the Phillies weren't mentioned once in Rosenthal's piece.

Baltimore sports journalist Dan Clark reported earlier this evening that the Phillies were one of five teams that had made offers on Machado. Clark also listed the White Sox, Giants, Yankees and Cardinals. It's possible that both the Phillies and Red Sox are in on Machado, and Clark and Rosenthal have just heard different things.

However, if the Orioles really are seeking two controllable starting pitchers, the Phillies simply don't match up. It's hard to imagine them even seriously considering trading Aaron Nola, and beyond him, they don't have another arm in the major leagues that would really entice the Orioles.

They do have a farm system deep in pitching talent, though. MASN's Roch Kubatko noted earlier this week that the Orioles "covet" Sixto Sanchez, the 19-year-old RHP that's likely to be the top-ranked prospect in the Phillies system in 2018. He also spoke with a scout that compared Sanchez to Hall of Famer Pedro Martinez, and seemed to dismiss the idea that the Phillies would even consider trading him.

If Sanchez is off-the-table, Franklyn Kilome, Adonis Medina, JoJo Romero and Ranger Suarez are among the pitching prospects in the Phillies system that could help form a trade package if the Orioles were willing to consider taking back minor league pitching.

Kubatko also suggested that Scott Kingery, the Phillies talented second base prospect, is of interest to the Orioles. Kingery might make more sense to build a package around if the Orioles don't want to rebuild. He's likely to begin the 2018 season in Triple-A so the Phillies can avoid him gaining a year of service time in 2018, but he's ready to play at the major league level. If the Orioles traded for him, he could be a starter for them on Opening Day.

The Phillies probably don't want to give up Kingery – who one scout compared to Dustin Pedroia – but if they get the sense Machado will be traded (and signed long-term) elsewhere if they don't, it may force their hand. Trading Sanchez would be especially difficult given the Phillies need for front-line starting pitching. Trading Kingery would be difficult because he has All-Star potential, but the Phillies already have an above-average second baseman in Cesar Hernandez, so that could soften the blow a bit.

For any trade to work with the Phillies, the Orioles likely would have to be more flexible with their demands in return for Machado. It's unclear if that will happen. While Rosenthal noted that the Giants didn't seem to have any traction when they spoke to the Orioles, the White Sox have Reynaldo Lopez and Carson Fulmer at the major league level, along with Michael Kopech, Dylan Cease and Alec Hansen in their minor league system that could be of interest to the Orioles. The Cardinals have Luke Weaver and Alex Reyes (who had Tommy John surgery in February) that they could build a package around, though Rosenthal said the Cardinals thought the Orioles were asking for too much.

What's clear is that the Phillies will need to get creative if they decide to make a serious push to acquire Machado through a trade. It's seems as though it will be hard enough to convince Peter Angelos to agree to trade Machado. To land him, the Phillies may need to complete the seemingly impossible task of convincing Angelos to rebuild the Orioles – starting with a package of prospects in return for Machado.

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