Fansided

Imagine a world where the Dodgers land one of these trades at the deadline

By Joshua Sadlock

BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 27: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD - JUNE 27: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles bats against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
4 of 5
Next
BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 27: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
BALTIMORE, MD – JUNE 27: Zach Britton #53 of the Baltimore Orioles pitches against the Seattle Mariners at Oriole Park at Camden Yards on June 27, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /

2. Zach Britton

It makes too much sense for the Orioles to package Manny Machado with All-Star closer Zach Britton in order to maximize their return. That being said, it’s the Orioles. So it probably won’t happen. Britton has been back from his ruptured Achillies for about a month, and continues to shake off the rust and work through some command issues.

In 11.2 innings this season, Britton has seven walks and nine strikeouts. He has said in the past that a long layoff — think two or three days between appearances — can lead to problems locating his bowling-ball sinker. It would follow logically that six months off for surgery and rehab would lead to even greater loss of feel for his signature pitch.

Britton’s velocity has been good and his sinker continues to generate ground balls at an extremely high rate. The left-hander has appeared in 12 games as of July 10, and had not allowed a run in 10 of them. Eight of his outings have ended without a single hit allowed. Now, when Britton has imploded this year, it has been much worse than usual. He allowed five hits and four runs while getting only one out on June 22 against the Atlanta Braves.

There aren’t any serious red flags with Britton as he recovers from his injury, but the fact remains that he is a rental reliever who is coming back from surgery. Given a few more weeks, he should be fully up to speed and mowing down hitters with his sinker. The Dodgers need relief help and they need Manny Machado. The Orioles need elite prospects and probably can’t get exactly what they want by moving each of their trade chips individually. Britton and Machado moving across the country together to Los Angeles works for both sides.

Home/MLB