Milwaukee Brewers: Are they in the running for Manny Machado?

The Manny Machado sweepstakes has proven to be the biggest story regarding the July trade deadline. The Milwaukee Brewers have officially made an offer for the Oriole, along with six other clubs.

Manny Machado is arguably the most sought after player on the market right now. According to a report by MLB Trade Rumors, the Baltimore Orioles have received offers from seven teams for Machado. One of those is the Milwaukee Brewers.

Is there a front runner?

According to the article by Connor Byrne, the offer from the Los Angeles Dodgers is the most enticing for the Orioles . Though they seem to be in first currently, it’s a tight race.

Within the same article, Byrne cites the Baltimore Sun’s Eduardo Encina as the source of the news.

"“The Dodgers have put forth the most enticing proposal, Encina hears, with the Diamondbacks, Brewers, Phillies, Braves, Indians and Cubs (in that order) coming in behind them. But the offers are “very close” in value, per Encina, so any of those other six clubs could leapfrog Los Angeles to land Machado prior to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.”"

How close are the Brewers?

As Byrne stated, it’s a tight race. There is still plenty of time. In Encina’s article, he claimed that the offer from the Dodgers is unknown. But, it did not include their second ranked prospect, outfielder Alex Verdugo. Right-hander Yadier Alvarez, their fifth best prospect according to Baseball America, was not involved in the trade proposal either.

So far, none of the offers have been released. But, Encina said that in a perfect world, the focus for the Orioles is finding young talent. Preferably, they would be pitchers and left-side infielders.

Next: Creating a trade package for Whit Merrifield

The Milwaukee Brewers are in need of a shortstop. Orlando Arcia has shown a lack of offensive production this year, and has already been demoted. Tyler Saladino, Brad Miller, and Hernan Perez, to name a few, are able to fill in. However, a mega-talent like Machado at shortstop could be the key to the Brewers becoming postseason contenders.