Breaking down the three true outcomes of the Manny Machado drama

3. Strikeout: The Orioles botch the whole thing

A case could be made that by letting things even get to this point, the Orioles have already blown it. Very little effort was made to buy out any of Machado’s free-agent years with a team-friendly extension. Guess it’s hard to find money for the most talented player in franchise history when you’re shelling out nearly $200 million for Chris Davis and Mark Trumbo. While it’s debatable whether or not the All-Star shortstop would have even been willing to give up the chance to hit free agency at the age of 26, not trying is unforgivable in the eyes of many Orioles fans.

The writing was on the wall last year after the Orioles collapsed following a 22-10 start, but they didn’t even entertain the notion of trading Machado a whole year before free agency. Owner Peter Angelos wouldn’t even sign off on a trade of closer Zach Britton, and decided to go all-in on 2018. The Orioles would have had to trade Machado last summer — or even this winter — for maximum return.

So, what would botching this look like?

The Detroit Tigers got little-to-no value for outfielder J.D. Martinez last year. None of the players they acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks are even in the top ten of their system. This is the worst-case scenario for the Orioles, especially knowing some of the names that were discussed over the winter when Machado was lightly shopped.