The Baltimore Orioles have been busy this offseason inking several free agents to deals, but one of their own doesn't feel taken care of. Much like the Los Angels did with their own star Mike Trout last offseason the O's gave promising young infielder Manny Machado a modest new deal, worth $519,000.
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Machado exploded last year, his first full season as a big leaguer, batting .283 with 14 home runs and an astounding 51 doubles. While his bat impressed, he also dazzled with the leather; he finished the year as the Platinum Glove winner, given to the American League's top overall defender. According to Fangraphs.com, Machado was worth a staggering 33.6 runs defensively and made 23 percent of plays that were deemed to have a 1-10 percent chance of being converted.
Still, Machado suffered an ugly leg injury late in the year that may have scared the Orioles front office away from inking him long-term. "It is disappointing, but at the end of the day, you just have to go out and play," Machado told The Baltimore Sun.
"I'd love to be an Oriole forever. I love the organization, I love the fans here. I love everything about this, and putting the uniform on every day. I just want to be treated fairly. That's it."
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While they skimped on Machado's payday, Baltimore is still frequently linked to free agent starting pitcher Ervin Santana. General manager Dan Duquette has commented that brass is happy with their depth at the position right now, and they may be facing more competition than just the AL East rival Blue Jays these days.
According to reports, Santana is drawing looks from the Atlanta Braves now, who may have lost presumptive ace Kris Medlen to a ligament injury in his pitching elbow.
David O'Brien of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote, "Initially I didn't think there was anything to the idea of the Braves pursuing him, but now with Beachy having more issues (he left today's start against the Phillies after two innings due to biceps tightness), I'm hearing from a person connected to the Royals that the Braves are making a run at the free agent. How serious that is, I don't know yet."
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