Manny Machado, Yu Darvish Rumors: Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees Interested In MLB Stars?

December is among the best months to follow the MLB rumor mill, and there is no bigger hitter on the trade block than the Baltimore Orioles' Manny Machado and there is no bigger free-agent pitcher than Yu Darvish. Both players could be on new teams in the very near future.

Speculating where the two players end up can be dizzying for baseball fans.

The New York Yankees, easily the most active club in the offseason by acquiring slugger Giancarlo Stanton, have reportedly been among the frontrunners to add Machado and Darvish. Longtime MLB reporter Ken Rosenthal noted that Orioles owner Peter Angelos might be hesitant to send Machado to the Yankees, but Joel Sherman of the New York Post noted last week that the Yankees may have as much as $25 million more to spend in the offseason and Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has young prospects Gleyber Torres and Miguel Andujar to include in potential deals.

But an intriguing contender for both players might be the Chicago Cubs. Bruce Levine of CBS Chicago posted on Twitter that the Cubs have an interest in Machado, while ESPN reported on Tuesday that Darvish had a "very good meeting" on Monday with the Cubs. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein could have as much as $40 million in payroll space before hitting the luxury-tax threshold to make a deal work. The Cubs have a loaded infield but still may want to upgrade by adding a star in his prime like Machado.

Machado could be due as much as $17 million in the final year of his contract but the third baseman may not be going anywhere. MLB insider Jon Heyman on Wednesday posted on Twitter that the "Orioles aren't happy with the trade offers they've received" for arguably their most prized asset. On Dec. 11, Heyman referenced the Philadelphia Phillies may have interest in the 25-year-old.

Eduardo Encina of the Baltimore Sun listed several suitors for Machado, including the Yankees, Cubs and the Boston Red Sox. He also referenced the Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals.

Darvish, meanwhile, could be headed back to Texas. The Houston Astros and his former club, the Texas Rangers, have shown interest this week. Texas is one of three states with MLB franchises that doesn't have income tax.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, who cleared payroll space with a deal that sent four players to the Atlanta Braves for outfielder Matt Kemp, are also considered in the mix to sign Darvish. The 31-year-old pitched just under 50 innings for Los Angeles in 2017 after joining the club before the trade deadline. In the postseason, Darvish threw 14.2 innings and had a 6.12 ERA