WASHINGTON — Matt Kemp was in a helpful mood Tuesday afternoon.
Manny Machado was the topic of conversation inside the NL All-Star team clubhouse at Nationals Park. Not only is Kemp one of the stars on the Dodgers — the team Machado joined Wednesday in a six-player trade — but Kemp and Machado are friends and past offseason workout partners in Miami.
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“Let me check my phone right now,” Kemp told a small group of reporters gathered around his locker. “Oh, he’s texting me right now.”
Machado wasn’t really texting Kemp. It was amusing, though. Everyone had a good laugh.
The pregame media access happened a couple hours after USA Today’s Bob Nightengale reported that Machado to the Dodgers was essentially done and would be announced on Wednesday (UPDATE: It is done and was announced. Machado was dealt to LA for a package of five minor leaguers led by 21-year-old outfielder Yusniel Diaz).
Kemp didn’t have any inside info, but he did like the idea.
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“Did you see what he was wearing today on the red carpet? That’s Hollywood right there," Kemp said with a laugh. “That is super Hollywood. That fits. He already has the style down, so let’s see if that comes true.”
With Machado now headed to LA, that's the second big recent athlete addition for the city.
"LeBron and Machado?” Kemp said. "That would be a big couple of weeks in LA, huh?"
A couple hours later, another report surfaced that supported Nightengale’s tweet.
#Dodgers increasingly likely to land Machado, sources tell The Athletic. Barring last-minute snag, several of interested teams expect that outcome.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 17, 2018
Around that time, this also happened:
— Cut4 (@Cut4) July 18, 2018
The Dodgers were long been considered a contender for Machado, who is set to become a break-the-bank free agent this offseason. The Dodgers have a long-term shortstop, but Corey Seager is out for the year with an elbow injury. Plugging Machado into that position for the rest of 2018, with a club that returned a large portion of the roster that made it all the way to Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, seemed like a no-brainer — if the teams could agree on the price of that rental.
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Nightengale and Rosenthal weren’t the only people predicting Machado’s landing spots during the All-Star events. On Sunday, I asked an Orioles fan wearing Machado’s No. 13 jersey — from Wisconsin, coincidentally — where he thought Machado would land.
“The Phillies, definitely,” he said. “Unless it’s the Brewers.”
On Monday, I posed the same question to another Machado-wearing fan.
"The Phillies. It's done. Over." He said it with such confidence that I thought maybe I’d missed news breaking on Twitter in the previous five minutes.
And as for Machado? No predictions, though he was clearly ready for the speculation to end.
"I'm just worried about the game today,” he said, barely audible from the back of the throng of reporters crowded around his locker, "and whatever happens, we'll move forward."
This article has been updated with the Dodgers acquiring Machado from the Orioles.
