Peter Angelos may stop the Orioles from dealing Manny Machado

Teams are inundating the Baltimore Orioles with calls about Manny Machado, but the team can’t move their star unless Peter Angelos gives the green light.

Manny Machado continues to be the hottest name in the MLB rumor mill. Numerous teams would love to get their hands on the Orioles’ biggest star. They all are going to be very frustrated unless Baltimore owner Peter Angelos gets on board with the idea of parting with Machado.

One source close to the situation put the probability of Angelos allowing the team to Machado as a 50/50 proposition. The only thing anyone knows for sure is that it will take a massive return to convince Angelos of anything.

This is a classic example of an occasion where the professionals in a team’s front office need to convince their owner to do what’s best for the franchise. The Orioles are currently off to a putrid 16-34 start. That leaves them 18.5 games back in the division before the season is even a third of the way to its completion.

Machado, of course, is also in the last year of his deal with the team. That means he’ll have the opportunity to leave the team for no compensation this offseason. Baltimore cannot afford to see their best player walk out the door for free.

Despite the team’s poor play, Machado has still been excellent. He’s absolutely raking with a batting average of .328 in 189 at bats. Even more impressive, he’s leading the majors with 43 RBIs. That’s quite an accomplishment given the lack of talent surrounding him in the O’s lineup. It’s easy to see why any number of teams would like to add him to their attack.

In fairness to Angelos, his desire to keep hold of Machado is understandable. He desperately wants his team to stay relevant in one of the toughest divisions in baseball. At the moment, Machado is the team’s only real draw. Moving him to another team would be a bitter pill for Orioles fans to swallow.

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It’s still a move Baltimore has to make. If they want to contend for an AL East crown anytime soon, they desperately need an infusion of young talent. Moving Machado is the best way to add multiple high-end prospects to the Orioles farm system. Peter Angelos needs to realize what everyone else in MLB already has. The Orioles have to move Machado soon to help position them to contend in the future.