The news of the San Diego Padres signing Manny Machado to a long-term extension broke earlier in the morning on Sunday.
San Diego and the superstar agreed to an 11-year 350-million-dollar extension that will keep him in San Diego for what is likely to be the remainder of his career. While this is great for Machado and the Padres, it’s not good news for the rest of Major League Baseball.
The Chicago White Sox could have, at some point, been in the market for Machado although, with their tight purse strings, it’s not too likely that they would have gone after him.
But, if they saw the value that Machado represented and the impact he could have on the team they just might have had an interest in putting up money to get him.
But that isn’t going to happen now.
The White Sox and Manny Machado are never going to be together.
Having Machado in the lineup, for the White Sox would have been huge. Machado is one of the best hitters in the league.
First of all, he would have all but solidified the third base position. The White Sox would have not had to worry about Yoan Moncada and could have traded him for help at other spots. Jake Burger could have backed him up and things would have been golden.
Machado's ability as a hitter and big bat would have brought a pretty powerful bat to the White Sox lineup. Combine him with Tim Anderson’s ability to hit the ball on a regular basis, Andrew Vaughn and Eloy Jimenez’s power, and the Sox lineup would have been one of the best in all of baseball.
But the Padres saw Machado’s value long before the White Sox could even think about adding him and got him locked up on a long-term extension.
It takes more than one player to make a lineup great but Machado could have helped make the White Sox lineup a great one and could have been the piece the propelled them deep into the postseason.
But we will never know now that Machado is off the market.
As previously mentioned, the White Sox would have pretty tight financial resources so being able to sign Machado to such a lucrative contract may have been impossible.
They have made do with what they are capable of spending money on but it hasn’t worked. This team is stuck in a state of near mediocrity and possibly slipping even further down a hole in the AL Central.
Machado would have given them power, better play, and would have made teams fear them more.
Perhaps the White Sox will spend a little more to go out and grab someone that can make a significant difference for them in 2023.
There is time to do some shopping and try to find a player that will be high impact and give them a great return on investment. But will there will be plenty of talent out there and available? Are they willing to pay the price for some of the top talent in baseball? Are they even able to?
We shall see as the season progresses what they do and what they can do.