BALTIMORE — Third baseman Manny Machado met with a Major League Baseball official at Orioles Park on Wednesday to appeal his five-game suspension for throwing his bat June 8 against Oakland.
Dan Duquette, the Orioles’ executive vice president, and Machado’s agent also attended the meeting. Team officials said a decision might not be rendered until the weekend, meaning Machado could be available for Friday’s doubleheader against Tampa Bay.
Joe Garagiola Jr., Major League Baseball’s senior vice president in charge of standards and on-field operations, served as the arbitrator. The meeting lasted about one hour. Machado is hoping to get the suspension reduced to two games.
“We got it done,” Machado said. “Now, we’ll sit back and wait to see what’s gonna happen. Hopefully, we can get something after the doubleheader. I don’t know how it works. I think it takes a couple days.”
The June 8 incident began when Oakland left-hander Fernando Abad threw two inside pitches to Machado in the eighth inning of their series finale. On the second pitch, the bat flew out of Machado’s hands and went down the third-base line. Both players then exchanged words, which prompted the benches and bullpens to empty. Machado and Abad were ejected.
Machado said he did not mean to throw the bat and has apologized for the confrontation. Abad received an undisclosed fine but was not suspended.
“We did what we had to do,” Machado said. “Hopefully, it doesn’t hurt the team and we’re down a roster spot. We’re hoping we made a good case.”
Baltimore plans to call up right-hander Kevin Gausman from Triple-A Norfolk to start the first game of the doubleheader against the Rays. The Orioles would need to make a roster move if Machado begins serving his suspension.
“We got some things in place,” manager Buck Showalter said. “Lot of moving parts. Everybody is in play.”