July 18th, 2018 at 8:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka By now, every Dodger fan on the planet has heard that, although still unconfirmed, a trade for Baltimore Orioles All-Star shortstop Manny Machado by the Dodgers is imminent. And even though buying into unconfirmed trade rumors is always risky, Machado himself did not deny the trade while being interviewed live by Fox Sports’ Ken Rosenthal during Tuesday night’s All-Star Game.
Yes, you can argue that Machado didn’t confirm it either, but for those adept at reading body language, it’s impossible to argue that he pretty much acknowledged that it was a done deal. Of course the selfie he took with Dodgers All-Star outfielder Matt Kemp during the game made it difficult for even the biggest skeptic to not sense that something was up.
After leading off the second inning of Tuesday night’s All-Star Game with a double, Dodgers outfielder Matt Kemp posed for a selfie with Orioles shortstop Manny Machado to add to the speculation that they will soon be teammates. (Video capture courtesy of Fox Sports)
If the Machado rumors are indeed true, and here again, there’s increasing reason to believe they are, the reason for the trade could very well be the fault / credit of one-time fan-favorite Dodgers utility infielder / outfielder Chris Taylor.
I know what you’re thinking: How in the world is CT3 even remotely responsible for the trade (which is believed to include as many as five Dodgers prospects) for the just-turned 26-year-old (on July 2) Orioles star shortstop, you ask?
I can think of 109 reasons.
After his outstanding 2017 season during which Taylor posted an excellent slash-line of .288 / .354 / .496 for an OPS of .850 and slugging a career high 21 home runs and driving in 72 while striking out a total of 109 times, the 27-year-old Virginia Beach, Virginia native and 2012 fifth-round draft pick (by the Seattle Mariners) has a less-than-stellar slash-line of .253 / .332 / .454 for an OPS of .788 with 11 home runs and 41 RBI through the first half of this season. And while this alone is certainly not reason enough to trade away the farm (as they say) for Machado, Taylor has already struck out 109 times at the midway point this season – second most in the National League behind only Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Paul Goldschmidt, who has struck out 110 times but has also slugged 21 home runs.
With his 109 strikeouts through the first half of the 2018 season, Taylor has matched the 109 times that he struck out all of last season. (Video capture courtesy of SportsNet LA)
With the Dodgers coming out of the All-Star break holding onto a precarious .5-game lead over those same Dbacks in the NL West, adding Machado and his impressive .315 batting average, .387 on-base percentage, .575 slugging percentage for an excellent .963 OPS – not to mention his 24 home runs and 65 RBI – immediately puts Dave Roberts’ team at the head of the class as favorites to win their sixth consecutive NL West title and their second consecutive National League Championship pennant.
The downside to all of this is that Machado will become a (very expensive) free agent at the conclusion of this season. And with Dodgers two-time All-Star shortstop Corey Seager likely (hopefully) to be fully recovered from his May 4, 2018 Tommy John surgery on Opening Day 2019, Machado is nothing more than a three-month rental for what will undoubtedly be a huge hit to the Dodgers farm system. Then again, having Machado – even for only three months – gets the Dodgers their first World Series title in 30 years, a three months rental of Machado for a handful of prospects could be the deal – and steal – of the century.
Although it may seem unfair to throw Chris Taylor under the bus for all of this, the simple, cold, hard and very exciting truth is that the Dodgers immediately become a way better team the millisecond that Machado takes the field (or steps into the batter’s box) for the first time in a Dodger uniform. Additionally, and to toss Taylor a bone, moving him over to second base as the team’s primary second baseman over the .208-hitting Logan Forsythe or even the .239-hitting Chase Utley (who if filling in nicely as the Dodgers left-handed pinch-hitting specialist) further makes the Dodgers a better all around team.
As an added bonus for Dodger fans, bringing Manny Machado onboard will allow them to dig through their closets or garages for their old Mannywood T-shirts, jerseys, signs, or whatever for the resurrection of ‘Mannywood’.
…and how can you not love that!
Mannywood is back!
(Getty Images)
Play Ball!
Posted in 
All true.
Sounds like a HUGE hit to the farm, but Machado could make us into an offensive juggernaut.
I’ve said, I would prefer beefing up the pitching with a controllable ACE if we’re going to trade away stud prospects (and still do), but it’s always exciting to see a true superstar become a Dodger.
Not only a true superstar, but one who’s just entered HIS PRIME. Guy’s the same age as Joc Pederson and Andrew Toles for crying out loud, lol! Deal would really benefit the Dodgers long-term if they’re able to lock him up this upcoming offseason. If they do that (or win the WS this year, whichever comes first), it’ll be more than worth the sacrifice. It’s not like them going after Hanley Ramirez or that “other” Manny when those two were already past 30 and trending down. Only wish Machado would stop looking down on the 3B position because the numbers don’t lie in this case, he’s actually more valuable at the hot corner than he is at SS. Oh well, at least he did say he’d keep it in mind if it meant winning it all in the end…
Agree 100%.
Well said Manuel. How would this lineup look for us in 2019 if Manny resigns:
CF Taylor
SS Machado
2b Seager (Maybe better for his elbow?)
3b Turner
RF Bellinger (I hate playing Bellinger in OF as he can be gold glove 1b)
1B Muncy
LF Verdugo
C Barnes/Smith (Grandal won’t be resigned)
Then you can have Taylor play super Utility…. play Pederson in the OF.
Trade Puig
Trade Puig….Ruiz….May….Peters to the Mets for Degrom…..
Sorry for any misspelling.
All this is too good to be true, although I hope we don’t lose Puig or Wood. I hesitate to make much of a comment until, or if, this does become official.
The only thing that worries me about this deal is not the number of prospects involved (heard it might be up to five, but Top 5 guy Yusniel Diaz appears to be the big prize in that package right now), but that apparently NONE of the Dodger players that are currently taking up cap space in their final year this season are being shipped out! This better mean more moves are already underway to address that ongoing issue, knowing how concerned the front office is about staying under the luxury tax threshold this year…
Enough already. Let’s get this done and have Manny in a Dodger uniform this Friday
Dodgers being aggressive and going for it now is great . What about trying to keep Manny2 magic long term by making room. Now by trading Corey Seager to the Mets for DeGrom
The Mets are rebuilding and Corey is amazing, but long term it makes sense for Mets ( and probably puts dodgers over top !)
Very interesting trade proposal. Two years future control of deGrom (plus this year) for three years future control of Seager. Very good chance we’d be Champions this year.
I think both teams would have to think long and hard on that one. I really think we need another stud pitcher this year, but Seager is my favorite player. Don’t know if I could pull the trigger.
I forgot to add, I think there is plenty of room in the Dodger infield for both Machado and Seager in the future.
With Machado I’d be very happy just adding an eighth inning stud this year.
Sure is fun being a Dodgers fan.
Matt Kemp’s tap dancing around the question, after the (now) famous selfie, sure leaves a lot of room for speculation too.
Are the Dodgers more willing to be aggressive with Machado because they regret not going all in for Verlander (over Darvish) last year?
Verlander wouldn’t have made the difference, either. Dodgers lost that WS last year because 1) Kenley Jansen blew the save in Game 2 when he served up that HR to Marwin Gonzalez and forced manager Dave Roberts to overuse the pen (btw, Verlander got knocked around pretty good in that one too), and 2) Clayton Kershaw FAILED to hold on to not one, BUT TWO big leads in that series-swinging Game 5 which led to the Dodger pen finally being taxed to death in extras. Sure, Darvish fell victim to the big moment in Games 3 and 7 of that series but he was not the one solely responsible for the Dodgers being unable to secure that championship. In the end, Kershaw and Jansen were the ones expected to get it done and they didn’t. Should’ve been a 6-game wrap, come to think of it…
Darvish single-handedly lost the WS for the Dodgers last year. He didn’t make it out of the 2nd inning in either of his starts. That changed everything. Stop it!
Darvish was brought in to balance out the starting rotation and help the Dodgers GET to the WS last year. And people forget, he actually pitched well in the NLDS and NLCS so stop trying to rewrite history just because you didn’t like how it all ended. Jansen and Kershaw STILL have much to answer for on account of their failed attempts to seal the deal in both Games 2 and 5 respectively. NO WAY should those two get a free pass for that matter! Now move along, nothing more to say here…
Come on. Chris has been a top 5 shortstop in the NL this season. Of course he wasn’t going to replicate his near 5 WAR season from a year ago, but he is still one of our most valuable players.
In no way am I suggesting that Taylor has not filled in admirably for Seager defensively. In fact, he has made many near-impossible plays and has a decent .969 FPCT at shortstop. The point is that Chris Taylor is not Corey Seager, who has a career batting average of .302 and a career FPCT of .971, which probably would have been significantly better were it not for his lingering elbow injury.
It’s Taylor’s declining offense and even more so his excessive strikeouts that is the problem. Had he put up offensive numbers even remotely close to those he put up in 2017 (and struckout half as much), the Dodgers would not have had to go out and rent Manny Machado for three months at the expense of five very good prospects (especially Rylan Bannon and Dean Kremer).
I was asked on Twitter why the significant increase in strikeouts this season over last by CT3 and what could be done about it. Ironically, former MLB manager and current Dodgers broadcaster and MLB Network Radio analyst Kevin Kennedy and I had just had this very discussion a day earlier, so I deferred to him to answer the question. Here’s Skip’s reply: