Jon Heyman: Brewers "aggressive" for Machado, move up leaderboard for slugger
Jon Heyman

The
Brewers are said to be "aggressive" in the Manny Machado trade derby and may
be joining the Phillies and perhaps one or two others atop the current
leaderboard.
One source close to the situation said of the Brewers: "They are putting in a good effort."
The Brewers are said to have been a "consistent"
pursuer of Machado, but may have stepped things up in recent days
thanks to some injuries and a rare mini-slump; they have lost four
straight to fall a half-game behind the Cubs for the best record
in the National League and the NL Central.
The Brewers have always been a good fit for
Machado, as we wrote here, especially since talented young shortstop Orlando Arcia has been
sent to the minors after struggling at the MLB level. Recent
addition Brad Miller and rookie Nate Off have been handling shortstop
duties as Arcia works to regain his form.
Brewers general manager David Stearns has flown to watch Milwaukee's Double-A team at Biloxi, Miss., which contains several top prospects,
such as second baseman Keston Hiura, third baseman Lucas Erceg,
outfielder Corey Ray and several pitchers.
The Phillies have also been said to be "aggressive," while the Dodgers, Yankees, Diamondbacks and Indians are said to be the other contenders for Machado. Of those teams, it appears at least
the Yankees have been reluctant to include the top prospects in their minor league system.
New York's need may be less pressing because they have Didi Gregorius at shortstop and
Miguel Andujar at third base.
Machado has made clear he wants to stay at
shortstop, which is where he'd play for either Milwaukee or Philadelphia,
should they acquire him.
Jon Heyman is Fancred's baseball insider. He publishes his weekly Inside Baseball column each Thursday on the App and FancredSports.com. You can download the App here and interact with Jon by following him right here.