Yes, you read the headline right. Right now, national baseball writers are calling Milwaukee the favorite to land Manny Machado. Cue the kid from David at the Dentist… ‘Is this real life?’ Yes, it appears the Brewers are going all-in on the idea of winning it in 2018. Fresh off the heels of The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal saying Milwaukee is one of the favorites to land Machado, MLB.com’s Jon Paul Morosi doubles down and calls them the favorite. Morosi brings up an interesting point when it comes to Machado and the Brewers.

Meanwhile, the Brewers’ collection of players — in the Majors and Minors — is custom fit for a trade with the Orioles.

The Orioles’ foremost need in the Machado trade is clear: They have the worst rotation ERA in the Majors and lack impactful starters in the high Minors on whom they can rely in 2019. To address that, the Brewers could offer Corbin Burnes (who was just called up to the Majors) or Luis Ortiz as the primary pitcher in an offer for Machado.

Meanwhile, the Brewers’ overall depth is such that general manager David Stearns can part with an experienced Major Leaguer — Keon Broxton, Domingo Santana or Orlando Arcia — and deliver immediate value to the Orioles’ Major League roster.

Orioles want to start their rebuild, and they’re going to need some ready-now players. Brewers have those guys compared to the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies. Milwaukee’s depth could really pay off for them in a Machado deal. You could see something like Ortiz with Domingo Santana and Keon Broxton for Machado. Or get Arcia involved in the deal yet the Orioles do have Tim Beckham who can play shortstop for them to finish the year.

Burnes could be on the table, but to me, he’s only a piece that would get dealt if Milwaukee is bringing back a controllable talent. That’s not Machado. It’s interesting that Milwaukee has him up in the majors for the next week to see what he can do out of the bullpen and potentially showcase him to other teams around baseball. Burnes will not be in the Machado deal, and if he is, I wonder if the fan base overvalued him.

The Machado sweepstakes have gotten interesting, and we’ll see if the Brewers can land a big fish.

Charlie.