Reports: Brewers getting ‘aggressive’ in Manny Machado pursuit, a ‘finalist’ to land him

After losing both games of a doubleheader in Pittsburgh on Saturday and mustering all of three runs in the two games, the Brewers’ offense is running on fumes heading into the All-Star break.

While David Stearns has never been one to make a panic deal, that might explain why the latest rumors coming out of the Manny Machado sweepstakes on Saturday night portray the Brewers as possibly stepping up their efforts to land an impact bat.

Earlier in the day, the reports were that the Brewers were “still trying” to land the All-Star shortstop, who’s getting something of a farewell tour in Baltimore this weekend as Buster Olney reports the Orioles want to trade him “ASAP.”

Now, both Olney and Jon Heyman are ramping up their rhetoric when it comes to describing the Brewers’ interest:

Follow the link in Heyman’s tweet, and this is what he has to say:

The Brewers are said to be “aggressive” in the Manny Machado trade derby and may be joining the Phillies and perhaps one or two others atop the current leaderboard.

One source close to the situation said of the Brewers: “They are putting in a good effort.”

The Brewers are said to have been a “consistent” pursuer of Machado, but may have stepped things up in recent days thanks to some injuries and a rare mini-slump...

Heyman also reports that Stearns has flown to Biloxi to get a first-hand look at some of the Brewers’ prospects at that level, which may be a precursor to a possible trade — or could just be a routine executive check-in.

There’s reason to believe both Olney and Heyman have a pretty good read on the ongoing negotiations — Olney spent years as the Orioles beat writer in Baltimore before joining ESPN, and Heyman’s connection with Scott Boras is rather infamous (along with his ties to Milwaukee — his wife is from the area and he frequently spends time in the city).

We should probably expect the trade chatter to ramp up over the All-Star break. Even if the Orioles don’t want Machado to be wearing someone else’s jersey during All-Star festivities, at this rate it would likely be a surprise if he started the second half in Baltimore.