Gary Thorne previewed the trade deadline on his call of Manny Machado's 15th homer

With his free agency approaching this offseason, Orioles shortstop Manny Machado has been the subject of trade rumors since the winter. He's responded to the swirling rumors by playing the best baseball of his career. 
In the fourth inning of Monday's 3-2 win over the White Sox, Machado hit his 15th home run of the season to bring him into a tie with Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez for the league lead. As the ball sailed over the left-field fence, MASN announcer Gary Thorne snuck in an update on the Trade Deadline stock report:

"Way back, left field, Cubs want him more than ever," Thorne said before continuing with his call of the play. 
Did Thorne just execute a trade of Machado? Probably not, but the Cubs are a rumored destination for the 25-year-old, so he was likely just offering some foreshadowing of the months ahead. Stay tuned -- rumor has it the Cubs want Machado now more than ever.