Manny Machado is on the move, but not the way you might think.
While trade rumors have swirled around the Baltimore Orioles star third baseman all offseason, it appears Machado will be spending his 2018 season in Baltimore. Moreover, the All-Star infielder will move from third base to shortstop for the upcoming season, coach Buck Showalter announced Saturday at Orioles FanFest.
“He’s going to play shortstop,” Showalter told BaltimoreBaseball.com. “We’ve been talking about it for a while. By all indications, talking to people who have seen him and everything, he’s really excited about this.”
The move came after Machado spent his first six seasons with the Orioles at third base despite being drafted as a shortstop in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft. Shortstop Tim Beckham will swap positions with Machado and play third base in 2018.
Machado didn’t play a single game at shortstop in 2017 after filling in for injury-riddled shortstop J.J Hardy for 45 games in 2016. When Hardy went down last season with a fractured wrist, Showalter elected to move backup infielder Ruben Tejada to short instead of Machado. The Orioles then acquired Beckham from the Tampa Bay Rays at the trade deadline.
There have been rumors circulating that the position change is a way for Orioles management to please Machado before his contract expires after the 2018 season, but it appears the 25-year-old is destined to test free agency after 2018.
