Report: Orioles want Corbin Burnes from Brewers for Manny Machado

Manny Machado will be a rental for whoever acquires him this month, and that’s led some to believe he could be had for pennies on the dollar.

But rental or not, Machado is still a borderline Top 5 player in the game, and any team trading for him will have to at least beat the value of a compensation pick. So while the Brewers appear to very much actually be in the hunt for Machado, they won’t be getting him for the likes of Keon Broxton.

In fact, according to Ken Rosenthal, Baltimore is insisting on Corbin Burnes in any deal with Milwaukee. The Brewers are reportedly balking at that idea and are offering Brett Phillips and Luis Ortiz instead.

That offer, on the surface, makes a good amount of sense. It’s been reported this week that the Orioles would like a young centerfielder to eventually replace Adam Jones, and Phillips would fit that bill. Baltimore is also in desperate need for young pitching, and Ortiz — while still unproven and developing — at least has high upside the Orioles could dream about.

But if an offer based around Phillips and Ortiz, two borderline Top 100 prospects, isn’t enough for Machado (at least at the moment), it should be pretty clear it’ll still cost someone a decent amount to acquire one of the best players in the game, even if it’s only for two months.