Ahead of the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline this season, one of the teams that were expected to be the biggest sellers was the Baltimore Orioles, who own one of the worst records in all of baseball.
They got a head start on the selling by trading face of their franchise, shortstop Manny Machado, to the Los Angeles Dodgers during the All-Star break. From there it was expected the Orioles would next look to move Zach Britton.
The left-handed closer was also shopped last season, but dealing with an injury, the Orioles didn’t feel comfortable with parting with Britton and selling low.
Although Britton suffered an Achilles injury during the offseason, he emerged as a hot commodity over recent days.
And it appears Baltimore has found a match for the left-hander, as according to Jon Heyman of Fancred, they have agreed to trade Britton to the New York Yankees:
sources: Britton to the yankees deal has been agreed to
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 25, 2018
Britton to yanks agreement is pending medicals. Dillon Tate (as @Ken_Rosenthal said) believed in deal, Josh Rogers likely in (mentioned by @Joelsherman1)
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 25, 2018
The last two seasons have been injury-plagued for Britton. He did not make his 2018 debut until June 12 due to the aforementioned ruptured Achilles.
When healthy, Britton is still one of the few elite relievers in baseball, possessioning a sinker that sits between 96 and 98 mph. As is the case with Machado, the 30-year-old is set to become a free agent this winter.
Britton joins a Yankees bullpen that is already the best in all of baseball, featuring flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman, Dellin Betances, Chad Green and others.
Almost every contender in baseball was in discussions with the Orioles for Britton. Among them were the Dodgers, Houston Astros, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs and others.
For the Dodgers, in particular, they were reportedly unwilling to overpay for a rental like Britton, so they will now search elsewhere to acquire a reliever before the July 31 deadline.
They reportedly attempted to include Yasiel Puig in a trade for Britton to help offset salaries but were unable to get a dead done.
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