Are the Dodgers Really Interested in Manny Machado?

Published on by Dennis Schlossman

manny_machado

As far as rumors across the league go, Manny Machado and Bryce Harper seem to have a stronghold on the market. According to some contentious gossip, the Dodgers were once believed to be in the “red zone” with Harper, as Los Angeles was on the “20-yard line” and closing regarding an agreement. Consequently, the Dodgers apparently had no real strong interest in Machado, yet as the days draw shorter to spring camp, their name keeps getting mentioned more and more.

There was some chatter floating around on Friday morning about Machado’s father, Manuel, stating on a radio show that his son indeed received an offer from the Dodgers. He indicated that the Phillies and the Yankees have submitted proposals and that the White Sox have also expressed a strong interest.

Towards the beginning of the week, Buster Olney of ESPN, reported that the White Sox made a seven-year, $175 million offer to Machado, while Jeff Passan heard some conflicting information, stating that Chicago’s offer was eight years and $250 million.

Whatever the case may be, those particular statements prompted Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano, to make a public announcement of his own, discrediting Olney while also mentioning Bob Nightengale, who has been tweeting that the White Sox will not be increasing their original bid for the services of Machado.

In spite of all that, one can’t help but imagine how Manny would fit into a defensive schematic for the Dodgers, as unlikely as his acquisition would be. His righty bat would certainly be welcomed (despite his propensity to chase outside of the strike zone), but which position he’d play has created  some theorizing by the fan base.

Some have suggested that Justin Turner could slide over to second base, a position he played during the early days of his career when he was more of a utility contributor. However, many believe that JT’s range is limited up the middle, as it would be a move that would move him from his defensive comfort zone.

Corey Seager is also a thought, but imagining a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder roving around the right side of the infield just does not seem right. For all intents and purposes, Machado at 6-foot-3 and 185 lbs. would be a better fit, although the chances of him agreeing to such a proposal would be slim to none.

Aside from all that speculation, there’s the group of fans who cringe at the possibility of Machado returning to Los Angeles, pointing out his lack of hustle, while also noting “several” dirty slides recently during his career, as well as stomping on Jesus Aguilar‘s foot at first base in the 2018 NLCS.

“It’s a dirty play by a dirty player,” Brewers right fielder Christian Yelich told reporters in an interview after Game 5.

Some actually believe that these actions alone would discourage the Dodgers from being among Machado’s highest bidders.

Like many fans, I don’t know Andrew Friedman well at all, but I have the feeling that he has extended some type of offer to Manny, whether it be competitive or not. Friedman is known for his innovation and creativity regarding contract proposals, and sometimes it’s worth taking a shot in the dark at a superstar while remaining non-committal over a long period of time. Seven or eight years seems like an very long time to commit, and offering a contract of such a length would be awfully uncharacteristic of the Dodgers’ boss.

Any way you look at it, though, a cumulative 23.1 WAR over four seasons is a huge amount of production and will definitely make a difference in the divisional standings for whichever team acquires him.

 

45 thoughts on “Are the Dodgers Really Interested in Manny Machado?”

  1. You would think Seager and Turner would have to sign off on Machado and figure out who would be changing positions. I would have to think it would be Turner going to first base. Also can’t see AF going any more than 7 years. If Harper signs with Philly then you would think this could be a possibility.

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  2. Good article Dennis,you pretty much covered all the different angles, it would definitely be a complex signing with money,and personnel involved.

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  3. The positions that create the most dWAR are on the left side. I kinda figured eventually Seager would go to third. Not this early, but maybe after Turner moved on. Turner at first makes some sense, but I think he can still play second. It’s not a new position for him, having played a lot there from 2009-2015. I understand the concern about moving him over there, but he’s 34, not 40. Utley was fine there 39, Turner could do it. Would he? Would Seager? Give them both a call Dennis. Having Machado all year would be very cool. Gotta admit…… don’t see it.

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  4. I can’t believe that the Phillies would let us outbid them for Machado unless they signed Harper first. If everyone is correct that Harper signs after Machado that can’t happen. Maybe AF throws a lowball offer at Machado just to see if he’s so desperate to not go to Philly or Chicago that he takes it. Ain’t gonna happen. Manny’s wife loves NY. You can get from Philly to NYC by train in about 90 minutes, by car in under two hours. That’s just about the same as driving from Dodger Stadium to Newport Beach. Maybe Lozano and Boras each think their reputation is on the line and refuse to let their guy sign first and neither of them signs this year. It’s a total standoff and finally Machado/Lozano give in and he signs a minor league contract with Detroit at the age of 40.

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      1. Did that include the time you spent on the side of the road waiting for the cop to write out the speeding ticket: 🙂

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      3. I’m probably old enough to be your father, or maybe even your grandfather Dennis, but we do have something other than the Dodgers in common. I saw the Dead at the Fillmore Auditorium in SF…………………….. in 1966!

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      7. Wow, good reaction time Scoop. I can see why you were a good shortstop. Looked for myself in the video but couldn’t find anything. Of course it might have been ’67. Everything about my four years up there is a bit of a blur for some reason.

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  5. Heyman seems to feel that there is indeed a mystery team in on Manny and they apparently are the high bidder at this point. From the sound of it, they aren’t the first place he’d want to call home but money may be the deciding factor (isn’t it always). OK guys, today’s parlor game: Name That Mystery Team. I’ll take the first guess, Toronto. Imagine that middle of the order in a couple of years: Bichette, Vlad Jr, Manny.

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    1. Pirates really need help on the left side of the infield and, along with Hurdle’s cunning skippering, could be legitimate contenders with the addition of somebody like Machado. Such a move, though, doesn’t fit Huntington’s MO, much like Friedman’s.

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      3. Could certainly be one of those two. Just the kind of move Preller might make and Farhan needs to do something bold for his fan base.

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      4. The reason I mentioned the Blue Jays was that Vlad and Bichette will give them two very good players and they have practically no payroll committed after 2019. That would be three great guys to build a team around.

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  7. It is all smoke and mirrors. There are still a lot of people on twitter thinking Harper is coming to LA and ignoring the facts and Ol Andy’s track record, which you have to give him some credit, he does not deviate from. New story out is that the Yanks are lying in wait for Arenado next year. That makes a lot of sense for the Bombers. But they still are short of LH power. Almost all their sluggers are righty’s and that short porch in RF is mighty inviting. I am really POed this morning. I got my cable bill and they raised it 15 bucks. So first thing Monday I am going to be on the phone. I have already cut my service pretty much to the bone and the bad thing is, in a small town like this, they are the only option. I totally hate Spectrum.

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  8. Twitter? What did I tell you about Twitter? Twit. Twitter. Remember? There are glaring examples every day in the news. Stay away from that unholy place man.

    I had a tech friend years ago who used to jump cable boxes. Took him 5 minutes. Get everything they offer for one $25 payment. Not sayin I did it. Not sayin I didn’t did it. Not sayin you should or shouldn’t did it. Just sayin there are options for old guys like us that feel like dammit, we’ve paid enough. Here in Sedona I’m kinda stuck with Suddenlink. Horrible service but Direct pissed me off and Dish is the only other option. I’m sticking with cable for now. I might do something different when we move.

    Not much in rumors this morning. I got painting to do when the sun comes up. Maybe today is the day? Maybe not.

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    1. It is a senior housing building. Not much chance of circumventing the system, and it is the price of the internet that is outrageous. I use my ROKU for most of my programs. 60 bucks a month just seems a little steep to me. The service is fast as far as that goes, but spectrum has the monopoly here. As for Twitter, the only reason I go on there is to see what Heyman and Rosenthal are talking about. They are usually right on the money. The others I usually ignore because they have no credibility.

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      1. $60 for internet?

        Heymanthal are as close as anybodys I suppose. Now and then I read their twit references, but I’m not on Twitter. Not on Facebook anymore either. Avoiding all that as much as possible. I’ll just read a few blogs and articles and wait for something to happen. Right now I’m waiting for it to warm up. I’d do some bench presses but my rotator cuff is already talking to me. I was doing some cleans the other day and I believe I over did it. I miss my lifting days so I’m really lowering the bar, so to speak, on how much weight I can pick up. This getting old game has its challenges. Anyway, sun moving up, should get to 50 by about 11.

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  9. Good luck with the painting Scoop. Don’t fall off the ladder when we let you know that we signed Machado, Harper and Kimbrel today. News should hit you about noon. I once bench pressed 15 pounds but threw out my back so my lifting now consists of hoisting my morning coffee from the table to my mouth. Can you imagine if you and I lived at the same place as Bear? Every morning the three of us would get together in the lobby and complain about the world situation, the Dodgers, cable prices, the weather…………………hey wait a minute, that sounds kinda fun.

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    1. Best thing I can say about living in Canon is that it is pretty quiet here and the cost of living is pretty affordable. Of course you give up some of the things you get in large city. We have 3 movie screens and that is it. The view is great because we are in a little valley up against the Sangre DeCristo mountains. Arkansas River runs right through the center of town, and the Royal Gorge is about 8 miles away. Beautiful area. Closest big city is Colorado Springs with Pueblo being about 5 miles further.

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  10. Here’s an interesting statistic: I was looking at the blog’s insight page and it has listed the all-time leading commenters with the number of comments. Bearone48 is leading the way at 228, followed by Jeff D. at 208, then Scoop at 174. I was in fourth at 112 and Keith was fifth at 86. Maybe I should try to pick up my game a little more. 😦

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    2. You have an Insight Page? Well, dang, we could use some insight around here

      With that I am going to give my official okey doke on AJ Pollack. Not my first choice but a solid pro who should produce 3 WAR for us, provided he stays on the field.

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      1. I’m OK with Pollock also, although he hasn’t had a really good offensive year since 2015. If we do sign him, one or more of the following will almost definitely happen: 1) Joc traded, 2) Bellinger moved to first, Muncy to second, 3) Bellinger moved to first, Muncy traded, Taylor/Kike at second, 4) Verdugo traded. Pollock has proven he can play against both left and right handers with no problem, so if Verdugo is going to be one of the starting outfielders it would seem silly to keep Joc around as a part time sub/pinch hitter. On the other hand, there are a large number of steps between “Rosenthal says we’re talking to Pollock” and “Pollock signs with Dodgers.”

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      2. It’s possible Pollock might end up at a corner outfield position. He’s 31, and though I’m sure he can still play center we may have younger, faster options out there. The market must be contracting for him as frankly LA, with a plethora of outfielders and a palpable penchant for platooning, doesn’t seem to be a good fit for him. But, if the money is right, the opportunity to be a part of a winning culture might be enough.

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    3. Just thinking about these numbers again Dennis. Are you sure those are all-time comments? I can’t remember when I first started commenting here but I must do at least 5-6 comments on a slow day. Seems to me that my number must be higher than the low 200’s. Maybe those are comments from just 2019.

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      2. Or maybe they’re giving you the number of posts responded to. In other words, if I have 10 comments to this post it’s counted as 1.

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      5. Hah! That sounds more logical. Imagine what those numbers would have been like if something had actually happened this month.

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  11. Apparently MLB is getting closer to handing down a penalty for the supposed illegal stuff we did when signing some of the Cuban guys back around 2014. Not sure, but it may have pre-dated the AF era, but in any case there is almost sure to be some sort of penalty, possibly something similar to the Atlanta one. That should be fun.

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  12. Dennis you and I are at a disadvantage, we still have to work for a living, we can’t just sit around drinking coffee, and posting, like some people around here, ha ha.

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    1. I’ve about had it with you Keith. Constantly hurling insults at me. I’ll have you know that sometimes it’s tea instead of coffee!! 🙂

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