House That Hank Built
Fansided

Atlanta Braves and Machado? Wait a minute, Mark…

By Alan Carpenter

ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 01: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles is congratulated after scoring against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth inning on May 1, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Manny Machado
ANAHEIM, CA - MAY 01: Manny Machado #13 of the Baltimore Orioles is congratulated after scoring against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the ninth inning on May 1, 2018 in Anaheim, California. (Photo by John McCoy/Getty Images)*** Local Caption *** Manny Machado /
facebooktwitterreddit

Glad to see many getting with the program that the Braves might have something special in progress, but let’s keep our heads about us, shall we?

Writing today in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, columnist Mark Bradley is suddenly acting like… well… a blogger, I guess.  He thinks that the Atlanta Braves should run out and snatch up Manny Machado from the Orioles.  Now.

What’s bizarre here is that Bradley even cites Exhibit A for ‘Why You Don’t Do This’ (emphasis added):

"The Orioles would want a package of prospects. The Braves have baseball’s best farm system. The catch: Alex Anthopoulos, who inherited these prospects, would surely be loath to raze the minor-league system for a five-month rental. The Braves once did that, dealing five youngsters for 12 months of Mark Teixeira. There’s your object lesson as to what not to do."

Bradley thinks that Miami-born Machado would fall in love with the idea of coming to a place (Atlanta) that is on the cusp of baseball greatness.  And what better way to convince him of this than to go ahead and send a pile of prospects to Baltimore so that he can get acclimated to the city and the team over (most of) a full season?

No.  Just … no.

Bradley is suggesting that Austin Riley, 2 top pitching prospects among Allard, Anderson, Gohara, and Wentz, plus a secondary-level prospect not named Pache might get it done.

Yes, I think the Orioles would be very happy to get that much back.  But it would be stupid for Atlanta to be that “brave” (Bradley’s word) to give up that much to spin a roulette wheel on Machado’s desire to come to the land of Coca-Cola and Waffle House.

In short:  if you want Machado… or Harper… then you line up as Scott Boras’ door in November and be ready to write a large check.  You don’t do this now.

Wrong Time and Position?

While I’m not opposed to Machado in principle, I have to wonder if the left side of the infield is even the right position for the Braves to throw money at.

While Austin Riley isn’t yet a major leaguer, he’s showing all of the signs that he could get there – perhaps as early as 2019 – and be productive on a full-time basis.

Instead, it’s Right Field that looks more vulnerable as a gap for next season, with few real options there on the farm (unless you believe in Dustin Peterson, who is hitting .289 with an .825 OPS at AAA).

Funny – since Adam got beat up for suggesting a re-up for Nick Markakis a couple of weeks ago, suddenly that idea isn’t looking so far-fetched… and others are mentioning the same now.

Even if you do think RF is easily dealt with, how about that elusive staff ace?  A deal for Machado now would likely preclude having enough trade chips for a guy like Michael Fulmer, for instance.  But after the season?  Then it might at least be doable.

Contract Year Performance

But let’s humor the idea for a minute here… after all, Machado is having a career year with a robust 187 OPS+, 1.8 WAR already (which pro-rates to something around 9+), and a 175 wRC+ (scaled runs-created rating).  And that’s on a horrible team.  Good job (and timing) by him.

Right away, I’d have to consider just how real those numbers are.  His best prior season with those categories have been 132, 6.6, and 135.  Those are great numbers, but  are they going to be worth Bradley’s suggestion of $37.5m per year?  [You know Agent Boras will think so]

Certainly, you’ll want to consider what you’ll have left over to spend on other players you’d most likely to lock up for the long term… Albies, Acuña, Freeman (again), and Swanson just to name a few… unless the Braves’ money generator is truly expected to be real over the next couple of seasons.

Other Suitors

Frankly, while the baseball media seems to think that they already have destinations figured out for Machado and Harper, I have to wonder if the Braves might actually be able to get in on such conversations this off-season.

More from Tomahawk Take

Here’s what I mean:

  • Cubs – they’d have no place for Machado or Harper on the diamond.  Not without spending way more money than they already have and without moving players around.
  • Yankees – Machado or bust for them… the outfield is occupied.
  • Dodgers – Have to pay Kershaw, Kemp, Hill, Turner, and Jansen already.  Machado would make Corey Seager available (though he’s just had Tommy John surgery).
  • Washington – their interest would be in Harper alone, but it’s hard to imagine them bringing him back, given their list of free agents.  That said, they are already paying him $21.6 million this season, so the additional leap for them isn’t as high.
  • Boston – no needs in the outfield; maybe at 2nd base, but that means a shuffle.
  • Others?  Don’t count out Philadelphia, but they would need more pieces before getting serious.

So if you’re looking for landing spots for these high-priced free agents, it does seem to me that the Braves would have as much opportunity – and cash – as anybody.

But that’s all about the off-season.  Not now, and certainly not if it means watching history repeat itself by watching a multitude of useful prospects perform for years in another club’s uniform.

Next: The Pitching and 1 hit did enough

Maybe if he didn’t wear #13…

Home/Braves News