Phillies: Four reasons they should pass on Manny Machado

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ST. LOUIS, MO – SEPTEMBER 13: Manny Machado #8 of the Los Angeles Dodgers throws to first base against the St. Louis Cardinals in the sixth inning at Busch Stadium on September 13, 2018 in St. Louis, Missouri. (Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images) /

No room in the infield?

Statically in 2018, Machado finished with 37 HR, .294 BA, .537 SLG, and a .905 OPS. All signs lead to the thought of character concerns, what else could it be? These clubs have the money to spend and the positional need. Yankees, White Sox, Padres and Phillies all have young teams, does the statistical performance out-weigh the potential damage of cohesive clubhouse? After all, It only takes one bad part to break down an entire car.

More from That Balls Outta Here

The current state of the Phillies infield isn’t in dire need of fixing. The team acquired Jean Segura in a trade with the Seattle Mariners in exchange for J.P Crawford and Carlos Santana.

Segura is one of the best leadoff hitters in baseball, finishing last year with a .304 BA, along with being sound defensively. Cesar Hernandez may not be offensively gifted, you don’t expect him to hit home runs regularly, but he gets on base and is productive defensively, there’s untapped potential in the 28-year-old second basemen who still has room to get better.

Criticism towards Scott Kingrey is harsh, the man is only 24 years of age, he finished with an underwhelming eight home runs and a .226 BA in at-bats. Writing him off early would be a mistake, point being, calm down Phillies fans, he’s only going to get better.

Third baseman, 26-year-old, Maikel Franko is just fine. Finishing the season at the plate with 22 home runs, .270 BA, .738 OBS, and still room to grow, he’s in no way a must replace player moving forward.