My colleague Josh Potter and I have slightly different viewpoints when it comes in Manny Machado. I urge you to check out his piece below as to get some context with what you’re about to read. We both agree that Manny is a phenomenal player on offewse and defense. But I personally think the Cardinals should make an offer for the young slugger.
1. Depth. Depth. Depth. If there is any team that can give up the prospects and still be in good shape it's the Cardinals. They have been able to sustain this type of success for years now. Baltimore wants pitching. Wait back up. Baltimore NEEDS pitching. The Cards in their own way have a pitching "problem" with Reyes coming back. They will have 5 spots for 6 guys. They have an abundance of guys in the minors ready for a shot including Dakota Hudson, Austin Gomber, and Ryan Helsey. The Cardinals have the depth to pull this trade off.
2. DeJong is out for a while. The news of his surgery shook Cardinal Nation. The shortstop was hitting well coming off his great rookie campaign and was playing stellar defense on top of it. Right now the team doesn't have a true shortstop. Gyorko and Munoz can "fill the gap". But this team needs more than that. Carpenter has started to pick it up offensively and if the time comes for DeJong to return, you can have DeJong play 3B. Jose Martinez and Carpenter can split time at 1B with Wong playing 2B. Gyorko can also play any infield position for an off day.
3. This deal would put you over the hump. This race is tight. After the 5-2 loss to the Royals the Cardinals are in a 3-way tie for 2nd. The Cubs, Pirates, and Cardinals are all 3.5 games back of Milwaukee. A guy like Machado puts you ahead of these teams (theoretically). Of course nothing is guaranteed but Machado is one of the best players in baseball. His slash sits at .335/.412/.649 with an OPS of 1.061 and a 2.3 WAR. He makes this team better.
There are a lot of factors that would go into this trade. Many valuable arms would be needed and potentially a middle infield prospect as well. But the Cardinals have the prospects to do it. On Twitter for The Musial Suspects, I proposed this trade.
Why no? What's the reasoning? It's going to take MLB ready or close pitching, you're keeping your all 3 Reyes, Weaver, & Flaherty, Hicks, Helsley are safe, and you have multiple OF prospects still left. Plus, getting Machado here in a winning atmosphere w/ a taste of October 1/2
Whether or not the Orioles would go for Mercado is debatable and Wacha may not be enough to sell it, but it was a close poll. What do you think would get it done?
Thanks for Reading
Aaron M.
Follow me on Twitter @AaronArchCity @SuspectsMusial
