After a few days of something more substantive than speculation, the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers appear finally to have conducted official business with each other. Eduardo A. Encina and Ken Rosenthal outline the particulars of that business via social-media platform twitter dot com:

At the very center of the trade, of course, is Manny Machado, one of the best major leaguers currently authoring one of his best major-league seasons. Machado will help the Dodgers address a shortstop position that has created uncertainty for the club ever since starter Corey Seager was forced to undergo Tommy John surgery at the beginning of May. Machado is projected for slightly more than two wins over the rest of season — about a win more than Chris Taylor (who’s received most of the starts at short in Seager’s absence) and also about a win more than a combination of Cody Bellinger, Enrique Hernandez, and Joc Pederson (who’ve received most of the center-field starts with Taylor at short).

Just this week, Machado appeared in the honorable-mention section of Kiley McDaniel’s trade-value series for 2018, about as high as a player with just a half-season of control would reasonably appear. As for Baltimore’s return, it certainly doesn’t lack for quantity.

Here it is, with players listed in alphabetical order:

• 3B Rylan Bannon
• OF Yusniel Diaz
• RHP Dean Kremer
• RHP Zach Pop
• 2B/3B Breyvic Valera

Diaz is the greatest talent here, ranked 11th by Eric Longenhagen and Kiley McDaniel in their audit of the Dodgers system back in May, a document in which he received basically average grades across the board. Valera also earned a place among the top 23 in that organization, notable for his bat-to-ball skills and ability to play shortstop (adequately, if not with great distinction). Bannon and Kremer have both outperformed their pedigrees this year, the latter earning a pair of appearances among the Fringe Five this season. Of Zach Pop, this author has nothing constructive to add.

Jeff Sullivan will publish a more substantive analysis of the trade this evening and lead prospect analyst Eric Longenhagen will offer reports on the new Orioles, as well. Will other trade-related content appear in these pages? The contingency is likely.