Revisiting the Manny Machado Trade and Baltimore's Prospect Return

On July 18, 2018, the Baltimore Orioles made it clear that they were going in a new direction. 

At the time, Baltimore had a 28-69 record, which was second worst in the league. 

Baltimore's core of Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo and Johnathan Schoop all hit a wall -- the team's decline was evident. 

To add more salt on the wound, Baltimore's pitching rotation and bullpen were atrocious, as their 5.49 team ERA was dead last in the MLB. 

An aging offense and lack of run prevention made a full rebuild inevitable, and that is exactly what Baltimore decided to do.

Baltimore traded closer Zack Britton to the New York Yankees, starting pitcher Kevin Gausman and reliever Darren O'Day to the Atlanta Braves, and Johnathan Schoop to the Milwaukee Brewers. Baltimore completely deconstructed their roster, but they had one more star to ship out. 

General Manager Dan Duquette made the decision to trade franchise superstar Manny Machado to the Los Angeles Dodgers for a haul of prospects. 

Baltimore received five prospects from Los Angeles: OF Yusniel Diaz (No. 84 overall), INF Rylan Bannon (LAD No. 27), RHP Dean Kremer (LAD No. 28), RHP Zach Pop (unranked) and INF Breyvic Valera (unranked). 

Where are these players now? 

The centerpiece of the trade package was Diaz, who was ranked as high as number one overall in Baltimore's 2019 farm system according to MLB.com. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Diaz never panned out as he struggled to hit at the minor league level, on top of battling injuries. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, minor league teams did not have a season, and that seriously stunted Diaz's development. In 2021, Diaz reached as high as Triple-A for Baltimore, but only had a .479 OPS in 54 games played. The outfielder was removed from Baltimore's 40-man roster in late 2022, and elected to test his luck as a free agent. Fast forward to 2026 and Diaz is playing independent ball with the Lincoln Saltdogs, where he has become a solid player in the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. Diaz was the most anticipated prospect in the Machado trade, but never panned out for Baltimore. 

Bannon didn't nearly have the same expectations as Diaz, as he was a low tier prospect for both Los Angeles and Baltimore. Like Diaz, Bannon would struggle to produce at the minor league level after the pandemic, but would have a very strong 2019 campaign at Double-A and Triple-A. The infielder had a solid .766 OPS in 130 games across both levels, but would struggle to produce after that. Bannon eventually fizzled out of Baltimore's future plans, as he only appeared in four games at the major league level for Baltimore where he posted a .343 OPS in 14 at-bats. The infielder would sign with the New York Mets as a minor league free agent in 2023, before being traded to the Minnesota Twins in 2024. Bannon is currently a free agent after a few Triple-A stints. 

At the time of the trade, Zach Pop was considered as a lower-tier pitching prospect. However, Pop has had some success at the big league level, unlike others. Unfortunately for Baltimore, Pop had to get Tommy John surgery in 2019, costing him to miss significant time. Due to missing significant time from injury, Baltimore elected NOT to protect him during the Rule 5 Draft, and was selected by the Miami Marlins in 2020. Pop never pitched for Baltimore, but has crafted out a decent career for himself. Pop has been on four teams over his career, and has a 4.88 ERA in 163 games. Pop signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Phillies, as he will be competing for a bullpen spot during spring training. 

Breyvic Valera was a minuscule part of the trade package, as he was viewed as organizational infield depth. Valera had a brief stint with Baltimore in 2018, as he posted a .668 OPS in 12 games. The infielder was then designated for assignment by Baltimore on January 4, 2019. Shortly after, Baltimore decided to trade Valera to the San Fransisco Giants for cash considerations. Valera would bounce around, playing for the New York Yankees and Toronto Raptors, but failed to play more than 20 major league games in a season past 2018. Valera is now playing professional baseball in the Mexican League with El Aguila de Veracruz. 

Believe it or not, Baltimore actually got one prospect that ended up contributing to the big league roster. Dean Kremer was viewed as a mid-rotation upside arm at the next level, and that is exactly the type of player he has become. Viewed as a strike-throwing righty, Kremer's command helped him become a successful major leaguer. Kremer made his MLB debut for Baltimore in 2020, but made a name for himself as a durable starter who can give you innings. Kremer helped stabilize what was a very weak Baltimore rotation in the early 2020's. Kremer has been a very pleasant surprise for Baltimore, as his 671.2 innings pitched since 2020 is first amongst former or current Orioles pitchers. Kremer is set to enter his seventh season for Baltimore, where he is expected to once again eat innings and stabilize the rotation. 

It's pretty safe to say that this trade backfired for Baltimore, however, they got really solid starting pitcher out of it. Los Angeles, on the other hand, only had Machado for a few months and lost to the Boston Red Sox in the World Series.

Machado elected to test free agency, where he would sign an 11-year, $350 million dollar contract with the San Diego Padres, keeping him in San Diego through the 2033 season. 

Machado became one of San Diego's all-time great players, as he is the all-time home run leader, passing Nate Colbert. Although Machado has been one of the better players in the league, he has yet to win a World Series. 

Since the trade, Baltimore has made the playoffs twice and are now one of the better teams in the American League, while Machado is still trying to break through in San Diego.