Milwaukee Brewers: The Brightside To a Possible Manny Machado Deal

With the Manny Machado rumors are starting to heat up, it seems the Milwaukee Brewers have a decent shot at acquiring the just turned 26-year-old accomplished veteran.

If the Milwaukee Brewers really want to show they have what it takes to be contenders and push for a deep playoff run, then this deal makes all the sense in the world. Believe it or not, acquiring Machado would still leave room for other trades, and impactful ones at that.

Milwaukee clearly has the prospect depth to make this deal come to fruition, but it would be fairly similar to the J.D Martinez deal that Arizona pulled of last season. Martinez blasted 29 HRs in just 62 games for the D-Backs and Arizona gave up very little to acquire him.

The production from Martinez was out of this world, but the possible production Milwaukee would get from Machado should motivate them to get a deal done. Milwaukee would be acquiring a stud that could help lead to a deep playoff run. But they have basically no chance at re-signing him when he hits free agency in three months.

Does a rental make sense?

Actually, if this happens the Milwaukee Brewers could potentially show that they are going all in on this year.  Machado can be had for a fairly decent price due to the lack of control, but how decent is the real question.

As mentioned, the lack of control could play in the favor of Milwaukee.  We could see a package centered around lower-tier prospects in Milwaukee’s system. But they would be considered high end in Baltimore’s weak system.

If the package for Machado is surrounded by good, but not phenomenal talent, we could then see Milwaukee go for an even bigger fish with their upper tier prospects.  Could they possibly get a starting pitcher like Jacob Degrom? That would instantly turn this team into a legitimate World Series threat.

Potential lineup

The Milwaukee Brewers lineup is headlined by on-base machines and 2018 All-Star selections, Lorenzo Cain and Christian Yelich. Imagine adding Machado and batting him third, putting him in front of one of the best young hitters in the game, and All-Star hopeful Jesus Aguilar. Not to mention Travis Shaw as another big bat.  We could be talking about three-run first innings on a consistent basis.

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Imagine if the rotation was also headlined by a real ace-type starting pitcher?  If Milwaukee does play the Machado card, they need to play it right. David Stearns knows how to make the smart deals and maximize the team’s production for the remainder of the season.