MLB Trade Rumors: Manny Machado Could Turn the Chicago Cubs Into the Favorites to Win the National League
The National League has been full of surprises this season.
Heading into the season, the Washington Nationals, Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers were the clear-cut favorites to win their respective divisions, but at this point, those three teams aren't in first place.
On top of that, teams like the Atlanta Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and even the Pittsburgh Pirates have gotten off to great starts, and they may hang around the playoff picture for the rest of this season.
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This is as wide open as the National League has been in a while, though one big move could turn a contender into a favorite.
The Cubs may be looking to make that big move.
According to sources spoken to by Jon Heyman of the FRS Network, the Cubs "will take a look at acquiring superstar shortstop Manny Machado."
Machado is even said to be the Cubs' "main target" for this year's trading deadline.
The 25-year-old free-agent-to-be has been tearing the cover off the ball for the Baltimore Orioles this season.
So far this season, Machado is hitting at career-best levels, as can be seen on his Baseball Reference page. Machado is drawing more free passes this year, and when he does lift the bat off his shoulder to swing, he typically makes hard contact.
Machado's likely to cool off a bit as the year progresses, but even a slight regression to the mean may not be enough to prevent him from posting his best offensive season yet.
Now, fans should imagine Machado keeping up his production but doing so in the middle of the Cubs' lineup.
The Cubs are already field one of the best offenses this year thanks in large part to the efforts of Kris Bryant, Kyle Schwarber, Willson Contreras and Javier Baez. First baseman Anthony Rizzo has not performed up to expectations just yet this season, but he's likely going to hit a lot better as the year continues given his track record.
As good as the Cubs' lineup has been this year, it is still one with weak spots. Shortstop Addison Russell, in particular, is off to another unremarkable start at the plate, and upon taking into account the fact that he has not been a good hitter in recent seasons as well, then perhaps he is just going to be a non-entity on offense for as long as the Cubs keep running him out there.
That's precisely why the Cubs' reported interest in acquiring Machado makes all the sense in the world.
By trading for Machado, not only would the Cubs add another premier hitter to their lineup, they would also have a suitable replacement for a player who is not doing much with his at-bats.
If there is any cause for concern here for the Cubs, it's that Machado has rated as a significantly worse defender at short than Russell thus far this season. Even so, what Machado may give up in defensive value, he will more than make up for with balls driven into the gap and home runs hit over the Wrigley Field ivy.
With Machado in the lineup, the Cubs may not be just another contender in the National League, they could very well turn out to be the favorites to compete in the World Series.
