I actually cringe at the thought of losing Jalen Beeks for a short-term rental like Machado. Yes his MLB debut wasn't very good; I think he was over-throwing and nervous. But I think he's going to be a quality pitcher in the years to come.
Me neither. The current 5 are more than enough to handle the postseason. And I'm still high on the other 3 (Johnson, Velazquez, Beeks). Sometimes people have a great season, like Pomeranz did last year, but can never follow it up again.
I wouldn't be surprised if the O's demand that whoever trades for Machado has to take Adam Jones as well. Jones is a good player, but not worth his 17 million salary.
Unfortunately if we sign Machado to a long-term deal, it may restrict us from keeping Sale, Betts, Benitendi, etc. in the future too. Can't have it all.
If we trade for Machado, I hope we don't include Devers.
I don't know about the rest of you, but the Yankees success is unnerving. I want the Sox to run away with the division! A one-game wildcard is just too dicey. I keep hoping that the fact that the Sox have played 6 more games than the Yankees will start to catch up with the Yankees in the form of double-headers and long stretches without a day off, but I guess it's still too soon.