Tag Archives: #Machado

What the Machado Deal Means for Boston

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Finally. It took until February the 19th, but Manny Machado has found his new home. Machado is now on his way to San Diego for the next decade. This has to be close to the best case scenario for Boston. The former Dodger was rumored to be between the Yankees, White Sox and Phillies. So with the Red Sox’ rival, a fellow AL competitor and a potential NL World Series representative all missing out on a generational player, the Sox have to be happy with how things culminated. If Machado had chosen a different path in free agency it could’ve really changed things. However, since he is about to be a Padre, let’s analyze how the other scenarios could have affected Boston and its future.

Scenario One: Machado picks the other Sox

Of the three candidates who were tied to Manny all winter, the White Sox posed the smallest threat. Their team isn’t quite ready to contend, with a lot of young pieces on the major league roster still trying to find their place in the league. If the White Sox could’ve have pulled Machado along with Bryce Harper, then they would be much closer to contention. However, even the current White Sox roster + Machado would still be unlikely to win their division. The battle of the Sox will occur seven times this year, which is about the yearly average that the two teams play. Not having to play Machado an extra seven games a year is definitely a small win for the Red Sox.

Scenario Two: Machado heads to the City of Brotherly Love

This scenario scares me as much as any. As is, the Phillies have a roster that is capable of doing damage deep into October. They have big bats, a solid bullpen, and an ace heading their rotation. If you add a star like Manny Machado to the lineup Philly already has, they’re likely the easy favorite to come out of the NL. Now this wouldn’t be the end of the world for Boston. You might remember them beating this Machado guy in the World Series once before. The Phillies really could’ve made a splash by signing Machado and/or Harper, and it would have vaulted them to the top of the NL and near the top of the league. Unfortunately for Phillies fans, ownership wasn’t willing to meet his demands. This doesn’t take the Phillies out of World Series contention by any means, but for a potential World Series matchup with the Phillies, this certainly makes life easier on Boston.

Scenario Three: Machado joins the Evil Empire

Okay, this scenario is the most scary. Yeah, the Sox handled Machado in the division before. Yes, they just beat him in the World Series. And yes, they just eliminated the Yankees in four games. However, this would have been very, very scary. With Manny joining a lineup of Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Gary Sanchez would be lethal. He would have the opportunity to play shortstop for the New York Yankees, something millions of kids grew up dreaming about. The Yankees were always rumored to be on Manny, and at times it felt like it was inevitable. However, the Yankees lost too much ground in the Machado sweepstakes in the last couple of weeks. The repercussions of Manny coming to New York are obvious. Roughly twenty times a season over the next decade we’d have to face him. Even though the Red Sox starters have pitched him well over his career, that is still a task that Boston is lucky they don’t have to face.

Classic!

What Role Can Dustin Pedroia Still Play?

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He’s two years removed from playing a full season and clearly his knee has been an issue. However, Dustin Pedroia still has a lot of skills and traits that can still be useful to this team. He’s still locked up for a fair amount of time. He’s going to make roughly 40 million dollars over the final three years of his contract. Can he still produce at a level that merits having that contract on the books? That is yet to be determined, but first and foremost, Dustin has to get healthy. The now 35-year-old second baseman is fortunate for many reasons. Mainly, with Kinsler departing, he faces almost no competition on the roster for his position. If he can get strong over the winter and be ready for the spring, he’ll have his chance to make an impact for Boston like he did back in 2016 and preceded by various season earlier.

Pedroia’s Achilles Heel

Unfortunately for Pedroia, he just can’t shake the pain in his left knee. Father Time isn’t on his side either, by any means, but the two-year-old knee injury has to be frustrating Dustin. In 2016 he hit .318 with an OPS of .825. Both of these numbers are exceptional, even all-star worthy. Then Manny Machado came along.Image result for machado pedroia gif

The collision between the two in April of 2017 appears to be what initially led to the injury for Pedroia. Machado’s late slide, that he claims as unintentional, took out the left leg of Dustin and frankly he has never been the same since. Pedroia has always been one that has struggled with the injury bug here and there. Nothing has ever compared to this, though.

Playing with the speedy, dirt-dog style that he does, his knees have already been taking a beating over the years. This has the potential to possibly sideline him for a good chunk of another season. Which would be similar to his 2018 where he played in only three games. Even worse, this has the potential to be it for Pedroia, at least with Boston.

Having paid him 16 million dollars last year for basically nothing, and 15 million in 17 for a half season isn’t good business. That equates to roughly 23 million in dead money, plus another 40 still on the Red Sox plate in the future. He’s going to have his chance in 2019 but he has to take it, or he could see himself out a similar door to Hanley Ramirez.

Can He Still Be Effective?

Like I said earlier, his last full season in 2016 was very good. Even in 2017, in limited action, he was a decent ballplayer at .293/.369/.760. IF, which is a big if, he can be ready to go for Opening Day AND stay healthy, the numbers seem like an attainable goal. It’s nothing special, and probably not worth the dollar amount he’s making, but it’s more than they got last year.

With Ian Kinsler highly unlikely to return, the door is wide open for Pedroia to take the reigns back. For him, it’ll be a transition to a different role, one as more of only a team leader and less as a contributor. When he could last year, he was always on the bench. He acted like an assistant coach at times for Alex Cora, something that likely had a huge influence on the team that won the championship.

If he can put up the aforementioned triple slash line from 2017, and continue to evolve into a mentor for the young guys like Rafael Devers and eventually Michael Chavis, he’ll be somewhat worth the money they’re paying him. As far as the team goes, they won 108 games and a World Series this year. Adding Pedroia back into the fold can only be a plus for this Red Sox team, and to me, it’s definitely an upgrade from Kinsler.

The Mookie Betts Scenario

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Almost two weeks have passed since the 2018 Boston Red Sox were finally crowned champions of the World. We now have to begin to look towards the future, both short term and long term. Short term, Mookie Betts isn’t going anywhere. His entry level contract runs through 2020, making him eligible to roam free following that season. At that time Betts will be looking ahead to his age 28 season. Which most see as or close to, the prime of one’s athletic ability.

He already has two MVP caliber level seasons in the books. So now is the time to lock up Mookie Betts with an offer he cannot deny. A lot has been made over the past couple winters that Betts isn’t overly eager to discuss a long term deal. The long term is what this Red Sox front office needs to be looking at. Making sure Mookie is here for the long haul, should be close to priority number one this winter.

The Length

Many people point to the Albert Pujols and Miguel Cabrera as reasons to avoid long term deals in today’s day and age. I would be quick to point to you that both of those players were over 30 when they took those contracts. Mookie Betts just turned 26, only 26! It seems obvious to me that if Bryce Harper and Manny Machado have earned 8+ year contracts, than so has Betts. Mookie’s resumé is just as strong, if not stronger than both members of this year’s illustrious free agent class. So why is a ten year deal out of the question for Betts? It shouldn’t be.

Ten years keeps Betts locked up through his age 36 season. This makes him happy as he’s set for basically his entire career, on one, big contract. The Red Sox also will enjoy the benefit of the first six years of that deal being MVP-type seasons from Betts. After that, his defense and his brilliant plate approach will keep him productive. Keeping him as a contributing veteran in the last few years of that deal.

Sox fans may be weary of shelling out a big deal, just because of the injury woes of Dustin Pedroia. If I’m ownership however, I know that Mookie may very likely want to test the waters come free agency time. I would think a ten year deal might change his mind.

The Cash

This topic is a little more wide open than the last. He’s going to get somewhere between eight and eleven years, that’s just a fact. When it comes to the money, and how much per year Betts is going to get, that is up for debate. Some would say the 300-350 million range is fair which is understandable. That is most likely what the Red Sox front office would be pursuing. However, once Harper and Machado secure their bag and get 300+ million, it’s going to inflate what Mookie Betts (and his agent) may think of him. If those guys can get that much, couldn’t Betts fetch 400+?

If I’m GM Dave Dombrowski, I’m starting at 400 million (at 40 a year) and I’m even willing to negotiate. Mookie was such a special player this year, and he’s been showing this culminating over the past few years. Not only have his regular season statistics been great. He’s one of the main guys in that locker room and among the fan favorites on this team. He was clutch in the playoffs and even had a home run to seal the clinching game.

With a new daughter having just arrived, I feel Betts could be allured by the offer of a big, juicy contract. Now is the time to sign Mookie before his value goes up even more. Had the Sox done this after 2016, they probably could’ve locked him up for 200 million or even less over a ten year span. So unless they want to keep waiting to pay more money, they better get on the phone this winter and lock up Mookie Betts.