MILWAUKEE --Manny Machado will be at Miller Park this weekend to open the second half, just not in the way the Milwaukee Brewers were hoping for.
The Brewers were among the teams bidding for Machado's services but ultimately the Los Angeles Dodgers won the sweepstakes, sending five prospects to the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday to add the All-Star shortstop for the stretch run.
Instead of taking at-bats for the Brewers, Machado will be in the starting lineup for the Dodgers at shortstop Friday night in the opener of a three-game series.
Though shortstop is Machado's preferred position, the Dodgers also plan to use him at third base, where he spent most of his major league career since making his debut in Aug. 2012.
"He's going to move around, like a lot of our guys do," said Dodgers GM Fahad Zaidi. "(Manager) Dave Roberts has already spoken to him about how much we value flexibility. We pointed out that every position player on our roster has played multiple positions. Manny being willing to move between shortstop and third, we believe he can be an asset at both positions.
"It's less about evaluating Manny at those positions and more about giving (Roberts) options. He understands the way we manage the roster. He's told us he wants to do whatever he can to help this team succeed and win. So, he's on board"
Milwaukee was believed to be the runner-up to land Machado.
"We had strong interest and we did everything we could to see if we could work out a deal," Brewers manager David Stearns said. "Unfortunately, we couldn't. Manny Machado is a very good player. He was going to help whatever team he ended up going to and obviously, that includes the Milwaukee Brewers.
"We weren't able to complete a deal, the Dodgers were and, we'll move on. We're going to see plenty of him and we're going to do our best to pitch him as tough as we can."
The Brewers limped into the All-Star break with a five-game losing streak and after leading the NL Central by 1 1/2 games when the slump began, will take the field Friday three full games behind the resurgent Cubs.
Milwaukee was ravaged by injuries over the last week but could get a boost if both Ryan Braun (back) and Manny Pina (right calf) are able to return from the disabled list.
"Before this home stand ends, I think we have the chance to get significantly more healthy," Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.
Counsell expects reliever Josh Hader to address the team prior to the series opener. Hader's first-ever All-Star appearance was tarnished when a series of offensive, inflammatory Twitter posts from 2011-12 were discovered near the end of his eighth-inning performance Tuesday night.
Hader will not be suspended by the Brewers or Major League Baseball but will be required to go through sensitivity training.
"Josh will handle this with the team not just tomorrow, but it will be going on kind of indefinitely in how he carries himself every day," Counsell said. "And that's going to be part of his responsibilities daily. He's always treated everyone here as a great teammate and as a great person, as someone you want to be around and who would brighten your day. So, I think he'll handle that part well. You're more concerned with how it's going to affect him a little bit. But part of the next step is for him to address it."
The Brewers open the second half behind left-hander Wade Miley who returned from the 60-day disabled list last Thursday and struck out five over five innings of against the Pirates.
Miley is 1-1 with a 2.38 ERA in three starts this season. Against the Dodgers, he is 3-5 with a 4.16 ERA in 13 appearances.
Lefty Rich Hill, who is 2-4 with a 4.55 ERA in 12 appearances, gets the nod for Los Angeles for his first start in 10 days. Hill last started July 10 at San Diego when he allowed four runs on eight hits in seven innings.
He's made one appearance since, working an inning of relief Sunday but has struggled this season and could be headed for the bullpen when the Dodgers get Walker Buehler back from the disabled list.
Hill is 2-1 with a 3.92 ERA in seven career appearances against Milwaukee.
