Machado shifting to short, Beckham to 3B

Manny Machado is naturally a shortshop, but Buck Showalter and the Baltimor Orioles have been placing him at third base for years.

Machado has played much of his first six seasons in the Major Leagues at third while J.J. Hardy was positioned at short.

But now that Hardy left Baltimore this offseason, Machado may very well man shortstop. Tim Beckham would shift to third base.

"There could be some adjustments down in [Spring Training]," Showalter said. "That's where we're going to head into it and there's a chance we could adjust from there. But I've talk to both Manny and Tim about it and we think it's our best setup right now."

When Hardy missed time because of a left foot fracture in 2016, Machado took over for 43 games at shortstop but slid back over to third in 2017 and stayed there after the Orioles traded for Beckham. Machado spent a majority of his time in the Minor Leagues at short.

Beckham has appeared in nine career games at third, but showed the versatility to play both second base and shortstop during parts of four seasons with the Rays.

D-backs in pursuit of Machado

The D-backs have been the "most persistent" of the several clubs looking to trade for Orioles star third baseman Manny Machado, but the sides are not close to a deal, sources told MLB Network insider Ken Rosenthal.

Arizona has been one of the many teams in pursuit of Machado since Baltimore began fielding offers for the 25-year-old infielder. While the Yankees and Red Sox have been two of the other clubs reportedly interested, Rosenthal notes it would likely be difficult for executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette "to sell owner Peter Angelos" on a deal to an American League East rival.

Rival executives see Machado opening the season in Baltimore, according to Rosenthal. The Orioles seem to be only willing to deal their former first-round Draft pick for a big return that would likely have to include multiple young starting pitchers.

Rosenthal discusses Machado06:3011:18 AM ET

Machado can be a free agent following the 2018 season. As Rosenthal noted, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones and relievers Brad Brach and Zach Britton are also eligible to hit the open market at the same time. Additionally, the contracts of Duquette and manager Buck Showalter are due to expire at the end of this season, meaning it could be Baltimore's final year with its current core group.

Machado is a .279/.329/.476 hitter with 138 home runs and 406 RBIs in 764 games over six Major League seasons, while also being regarded annually as one of the best defensive third basemen in the game.

A two-time Gold Glove Award winner, Machado has requested a move to shortstop, his natural position. It's a move that could increase his value even more as he looks to land a large contract next offseason.

LEADING OFF: Sale faces Machado, Stroman sees slugging Yanks

A look at what's happening all around the majors today:

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EASY DOES IT

Red Sox ace Chris Sale faces the Orioles for the first time since throwing a fastball behind the legs of Baltimore star Manny Machado last month. The incident escalated the feud between the teams, led to warnings for both clubs and got Machado and Sale chirping after the game. They meet this time at Camden Yards.

JUST RELAX

Cubs shortstop Addison Russell could return to the lineup for this night-time matchup vs. St. Louis at Wrigley Field. Manager Joe Maddon didn't start Russell on Saturday, giving him a break to clear his mind. Russell later grounded out as a pinch hitter and is batting .211, without a hit in his last four games.

NOT YOUR FATHER'S PIRATES

Tyler Pill makes his second major league start for the Mets in their series finale against Pittsburgh. Pill's father, Michael, was drafted in the second round by the Pirates and pitched in their minor league system from 1977-79. The younger Pill lost in relief during his big league debut last weekend at Pittsburgh but then started Tuesday against Milwaukee and tossed 5 1/3 effective innings in a no-decision. "Never gives in. Has the ability to make a pitch when he really, really has to," New York manager Terry Collins said. With starters Steven Matz and Seth Lugo expected to come off the disabled list in a few days, the 27-year-old Pill could soon be headed back to the minors. So this might represent his last shot at a major league win - at least for a while.

POWERED UP

Marcus Stroman is 5-0 with a 2.96 ERA in his past eight starts for the Blue Jays, and hasn't lost since April 18. He'll face a Yankees team that broke loose in the eighth Saturday at Toronto to hit four home runs, tying the franchise record for most homers in an inning.

ENCORE, ENCORE

Vance Worley starts for Miami, a day after teammate Edinson Volquez pitched the first no-hitter in the majors this year. Volquez was tied for the big league lead in losses when he faced Arizona. Worley is 0-2 going into this game against the visiting Diamondbacks.

YOU AGAIN?

Giants star Buster Posey has a 17-game hitting streak against the Phillies dating to July 24, 2014. He extended the string with a single Saturday in Philadelphia.

Gausman ejected after another hit batter in Red Sox-Orioles

By JIMMY GOLEN
AP Sports Writer
  
BOSTON (AP) -- Orioles starter Kevin Gausman was ejected in the second inning of Wednesday night's game against the Red Sox after hitting Boston's Xander Bogaerts with a pitch - the latest in a series of beanballs and brushbacks that have turned the teams' matchups this season into a boiling rivalry.

Hours after a conference call in which MLB chief baseball officer Joe Torre sent the message "Enough is enough," Gausman plunked Bogaerts on the hip with his 20th pitch of the game. Rather than issue the customary warning, home plate umpire and crew chief Sam Holbrook immediately tossed Gausman.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter sprinted out of the dugout to complain, and Gausman appeared to be arguing that the pitch was a curveball that did not break. The pitch, recorded by radar guns at 76.6 mph, hit Bogaerts on the hip.

It was not known whether the umpires were under orders from MLB to automatically toss any pitcher who hit a batter - under these circumstances, it wouldn't be unheard of.

The feud has developed at the same time that the city of Boston rallied in support of Orioles outfielder Adam Jones, who reported being called racial slurs by a fan at Fenway Park during Monday night's game. The team apologized, as did the Boston mayor and Massachusetts governor, and Red Sox players came to Jones' defense.

When Jones came to the plate the next night, he received a loud and long ovation from the Boston crowd. But things turned sour for the very next batter when Red Sox starter Chris Sale buzzed Manny Machado with a pitch behind his knees, and the Baltimore third baseman responded after the game with an expletive-filled tirade.

That led to a call Wednesday afternoon with Torre, the two managers, Red Sox president of baseball operations Dave Dombrowski and Orioles GM Dan Duquette. Red Sox manager John Farrell said Torre had told the teams to knock it off, but that there were no warnings about hit batters.

"I guess the best way to describe it is: I can confirm that there was a call and it happened for both clubs, to basically address the last two weeks and to say, `Enough is enough,'" Farrell said, adding that he hoped that would be the end of it.

In the fifth inning, Jones was ejected by Holbrook after striking out swinging. Jones was upset about a late strike call earlier in the at-bat.

Duquette, meanwhile, said he hoped Sale would be suspended.

"Of course, I'm concerned about our guys, but we can't have the pitchers in this league throwing at the hitters (and) it doesn't work," Duquette told reporters in the Baltimore dugout before the game.

Longtime competitors in the AL East, the rivalry between Boston and Baltimore has never attracted the attention or animosity of a Red Sox-Yankees matchup. But the low-grade hostility boiled into a feud on April 21 when Machado spiked Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia with a late slide.

Two days later, Boston reliever Matt Barnes whizzed a fastball behind the head of Machado, hitting his bat. Barnes was suspended four games and fined.

In the opener of the four-game series at Fenway Park on Monday, Baltimore right-hander Dylan Bundy hit Boston's Mookie Betts near the left hip with a fastball. Then came Sale's purpose pitch.

"I lost my respect for that organization," Machado said afterward. "If they're going to hit me, hit me. Go ahead. Get it over with. Don't keep lingering it around and doing that. I've lost mad respect for that team and that organization," he said.

Told about Machado's tirade, Sale shrugged it off.

"Whatever, man," he said. "I'm not losing sleep tonight."

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AP freelancer Ken Powtak contributed to this story.