Phillies will have to play Manny Machado at shortstop if acquired

Manny Machado made it clear that he will play shortstop no matter who he plays for this season and next, which includes the Phillies.

The Phillies are one of the main teams pursuing Manny Machado this year at the trade deadline. They had interest in him during the offseason last year and are expected to make a heavy push for him next offseason.

Machado entered the league as a third baseman back in 2012 as a 19-year-old as J.J. Hardy was Baltimore’s starting shortstop. With Hardy gone, this year he insisted he moved back to shortstop instead of third. The Orioles obviously caved because Machado is their best player.

Machado knows full and well he will probably end up somewhere besides Baltimore by next season, but he remains adamant that no matter where he winds up, he will still play shortstop: [quote via Joe Meoli of The Baltimore Sun]

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"“I’m playing short,” Machado said. “That’s the position I want to play. That’s the position I know I can play and produce [at]. … I’ve been a shortstop my entire life. I’ve played third base for a couple years. I did well, and I thought I was an elite player at that position, but at the end of the day, I’ve been a shortstop my entire life. I know I can be a way better player as a shortstop than I can at third.”"

Machado was a great defensive third baseman over the last few years. He won a Gold Glove in 2013 and 2015 and ranked fourth in defensive value in 2016.

As a full-time shortstop this year, the results have not been great.

The only stat he ranks favorably in is fielding percentage, where he ranks eight points above the league average for shortstops. Otherwise, his numbers are extremely poor. He has -20 defensive runs saved, a -15.5 UZR/150, and is worth 1.5 wins below replacement defensively this year.

Simply put, Machado is just not a good shortstop, as much as he insists. He fared far better as a third baseman in his career. Despite that, he will lobby to play shortstop wherever he winds up, which could be Philadelphia.

Currently, the left side of Philadelphia’s has produced little. Their shortstops rank 26th in wins above replacement and their third basemen rank 28th. The combination of Scott Kingery, J.P. Crawford, and Maikel Franco have not brought much to the table this year.