McAdam: Red Sox' involvement with Machado grossly overstated

With the non-waiver trade deadline on the horizon, disinformation can be as prevalent as actual information when it comes to teams and their interest in a particular player.

Case in point: the Red Sox and Manny Machado.

Two separate reports Tuesday night indicated that the Red Sox had jumped into the Machado sweepstakes, which seemed odd at first blush, since upgrading either shortstop or third base is far from a priority for the Sox, and the fact that Sox seemingly don't have anywhere near the package of prospects to land a player of Machado's caliber and outbid the half-dozen teams already involving in the bidding.

Sure enough, according to a source, the reports came as news to those in the Red Sox organization. Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski, as part of his due diligence, did make a call

on Machado last month, only to find the asking price was way beyond the Red Sox' liking.

Machado is headed for free agency this fall and the Orioles, 40 games under .500, have made the determination to move him -- perhaps even before next week's All-Star Game -- in order to get something in return before he departs as a free agent.

Since then, there've been no substantive talks between the organizations about Machado, though the Sox continue to monitor the market for Baltimore closer Zach Britton.

The source of the Red Sox' sudden "interest,'' an industry source confirmed Wednesday, is the Orioles' ownership group, which apparently determined that floating news of renewed involvement by the Red Sox on Machado would in turn prompt the New York Yankees to heighten their interest and perhaps sweeten their offer.

John and Louis Angelos, sons of principal owner Peter Angelos, according to multiple sources, last weekend leaked a list of teams in on Machado, going so far as to, anonymously of course, rank the quality of the offers made by the bidding teams.

The Yankees, sensing that the Orioles weren't bowled over by bids from -- among others -- the Dodgers, Brewers, Diamondbacks and Cardinals -- signaled an interest.

On the surface, the Yanks don't have a pressing need for Machado, as accomplished as he is. Didi Gregorius has been productive at shortstop and rookie Miguel Andjuar at third leads all American League rookies in extra-base hits and is second in homers and third in slugging percentage.

But as was the case with their acquisition of Giancarlo Stanton last winter, the Yankees see an opportunity to upgrade their offense and improve their already powerful lineup. And for the Yankees -- either unimpressed with the market for starting pitchers or balking at the cost of the better available arms --  adding yet more offense presents an alternative method to make their team better: if they can't limit the opposition, they can always try to score more runs.

Even if the Red Sox were legitimately interested in Machado, it's highly doubtful that the Sox could put together a competitive offer, especially with their two most highly-regarded prospects off the table for the time being. Infielder Michael Chavis just returned earlier this month from an 80-game PED suspension, and as such, his stock is down considerably as teams wait to determine if his breakthrough 2017 season was the result of illegal enhancements.

Further, Jay Groome, the Red Sox' top pitching prospect, is out for the rest of this season and most of next after undergoing Tommy John surgery in May.

Meanwhile, a baseball source indicated that the Red Sox remain almost exclusively in the market for bullpen help. To date, the organization hasn't differentiated between rentals -- such as Britton or Jeurys Familia -- or relievers who remain under control for several more seasons, like San Diego's Brad Hand or Cincinnati's Raisel Iglesias.

The latter would offer the Red Sox protection in the event the team doesn't re-sign Craig Kimbrel, a free agent this fall. But, of course, they would also represent a far higher acquisition cost.