WASHINGTON — On the night of the All-Star Game, Manny Machado proudly will represent the Baltimore Orioles, the only team he’s played for in the big leagues.
It just might be his final appearance in an Orioles uniform. With the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline looming, it won’t be long before the four-time AL All-Star is dealt from last-place Baltimore to a contender.
Machado was drafted by the Orioles with the third overall pick in 2010 and has been a starter in Baltimore since 2012. His contract expires after this season and the Orioles don’t have enough money to keep the 26-year-old shortstop and build a decent team around him.
If there was ever any doubt about their intention, the point was hammered home when Manager Buck Showalter removed Machado in the fifth inning of Sunday’s game against Texas because the field was messy following a rain delay.
“A month ago he wouldn’t have come out of the game,” Showalter said. “We know that. You know it.”
Machado does, too. What he doesn’t know, however, is how it might feel to play for another team.
“The only thing I’ve ever known has been the Orioles organization,” he said Monday. “They drafted me, I came up with them, played with them. So I don’t know anything different.”
Machado wasn’t the only All-Star facing the prospect of switching teams in the next two weeks. Rangers outfielder Shin-Soo Choo, and pitchers Jacob deGrom (Mets), J.A. Happ (Blue Jays), Blake Snell (Rays) and Brad Hand (Padres) could be headed to contenders.
“Starting pitching is always big during the trade deadline, whether it’s me or somebody else who’s having a good year,” said deGrom, 30, a member of the Mets for his entire career.
The Blue Jays are going nowhere this season in the AL East, but Happ knows he might be going somewhere else.
“I know it’s certainly a possibility,” Happ said. “But I was talking to one of the guys earlier, he was in a position last year where everybody was telling him he was going to be traded and it never happened. I can’t imagine going through a month of that kind of anxiety and then have nothing happen.”
With Machado, there seems to be little doubt that he’s headed elsewhere. The only questions now are where and when.
The rumors, the massive media crowd around him Monday and the prospect of his imminent departure from Baltimore did nothing to diminish Machado’s joy at being an All-Star again.
TWINS: When Manager Paul Molitor relieved Fernando Romero in the fifth inning Sunday with runners on second and third, he chose an unexpected pitcher: Closer Fernando Rodney, who had not appeared before the sixth inning since 2005.
It felt like an extreme move, to use his best pitcher in a critical situation, or perhaps a chance to showcase the 41-year-old for scouts from teams considering a trade.
And the move was brilliant: Rodney threw a 95 mph fastball, struck out Carlos Gomez on an 83 mph change-up and ended the inning on a harmless grounder.
Molitor had a confession after the game, however.
“To be honest with you, it wasn’t about (strategy). He needs to be in Miami for an immigration hearing (Monday) morning” that he couldn’t reschedule, the manager said.
So Rodney had to leave by 3:30 to catch a flight.
In fact, Rodney reported via Instagram that he became a U.S. citizen on Monday:
“After 19 years in this wonderful country today I am blessed to say that I am an official US Citizen. Today I fly the American Flag but in my heart always hold my Dominican Flag. I want to thank all those who have been with me throughout the process and especially thank the @twins organizations for allowing me to catch my flight. Big thanks to the @tigers who made this dream possible 19 years ago.”
Nationals: Right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg pitched 52/3 innings in a rehab start for Class A Potomac on Sunday. He allowed three runs, struck out seven and walked one. Strasburg has been on the disabled list since June 10.
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