MLB News: The Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado Faces the Media in Chicago Amidst Trade Rumors
An otherwise unremarkable May series between two of the worst teams in the American League has turned into a subject of fascination for many fans and the front offices of many MLB franchises.
For those who may be unaware, the Baltimore Orioles are in Chicago to play the White Sox in a mid-week series. Again, in most cases, this showdown between bad teams will fly under the radar or even be wholly ignored except by fans of the franchises involved.
That's not happening this time, however, and that's due to the presence of one player in particular.
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Manny Machado has been mentioned in trade rumors a lot lately and understandably so.
The Orioles, barring a truly historic in-season turnaround, will most likely miss out on the postseason, and Machado will be able to leave the team as an unrestricted free agent this coming winter, so trading him this season would seemingly make sense for the franchise.
Thus far at least, the Orioles have held off on making it clear that they will trade Machado this season, but that is still the expectation around the Majors.
It just so happens that another MLB team based in Chicago, the Cubs, have been mentioned as a potential landing spot for Machado, with FRS Network's Jon Heyman noting in a recent report that the franchise views the infielder as their "main target" for this trading deadline.
So, what happened when Machado made his way to Chicago? He answered questions from the media of course.
The Chicago Tribune recently shared a video of Machado talking to members of the media ahead of the Orioles' series with the White Sox.
For the most part, the Q&A session with Machado was fairly unremarkable, with the infielder sticking to familiar talking points such as focusing on winning games and not worrying about the rumors. That's standard stuff, but even as Machado himself may try to downplay the rumors, the residents of Chicago are not shying away from them.
They have no reason to hide their desire to see Machado on the Cubs, too.
The 25-year-old has been absolutely on fire for the Orioles this season. A quick look at his Baseball Reference page reveals that he is currently on pace to post what would easily be the most impressive offensive season of his already remarkable career.
Machado's likely to regress a bit as the season goes on, but even a slight dip in production would still mean that he is hitting like a superstar.
Machado's visit to Chicago will end as soon as the series with the White Sox is over, though the Cubs may be hoping that he'll stay a little while longer later in the year.
Of course, they will most likely not be the only ones who will attempt to pry him away from the Orioles.
Players like Machado don't become available via trade very often, and when they do, they tend to receive a lot of attention.
The trading deadline isn't until the end of July, so fans should prepare to hear more about Machado potentially being moved over the coming weeks.
