Dodgers: Machado, Harper, Both or None

I put out a poll regarding Manny Machado and Bryce Harper; the two biggest free agents on the market.

Dodgers fans! What do you want?

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— Tim Rogers 2080 ??subscriber: (@TimRogers2080) November 4, 2018

According to the poll Machado gets only 23%, Harper 58% and 33% want neither. It goes without saying but I will say it anyway; both Harper and Machado will each get at least 10-year contracts at over $30 million per year. To see the current salary situation see what I wrote a few days ago. I will break down how each option might impact the lineup.

Manny Machado Overview

It is surprising that Machado only received 23% of the votes. I guess the lack of hustle and the lack of superstar production for the Dodgers didn’t help. However, he did play some pretty good shortstop and was still very productive at the plate. I was always concerned that his Camden Yard numbers over-inflated his statistics. He’s only 26 and has a build that isn’t so heavy. That means he probably doesn’t turn into Albert Pujols and can contribute at SS or 3B for quite a few years into the contract.

Bryce Harper Overview

Plenty of comments from friends and family indicate a lot of people just don’t like Harper. He’s had one phenomenal season in 2015 and has had some other strong seasons. What I see though is a generational talent with as much or more potential than anybody in MLB. His power is outstanding, his on-base percentage is always strong and he hits lefties. His biggest weakness is defense and him playing left field at the age of 36 scares me.

Re-sign Machado

Resigning Manny Machado with Corey Seager coming back does cause some issues. Corey Seager is the starting shortstop but coming off of Tommy John surgery. The middle of the lineup would consist of something like this:

2. Turner
3. Seager
4. Machado
5. Muncy
6. Puig
7. Bellinger

There are two scenarios I saw a few days ago:

In my world if Seager is healthy enough to play SS:
Turner 1B
Seager SS
Machado 3B
Bellinger CF

if not:
Seager 1B
Machado SS
Turner 3B
Bellinger CF

Max Muncy learns to play LF in either case.

— Tim Rogers 2080 ??subscriber: (@TimRogers2080) November 2, 2018

Sign Harper

If the Dodgers just sign Bryce Harper it would make an already very full outfield even fuller. It would also load up the lineup in the middle with even more strong left-handed batters. The middle of the lineup could be something like this:

2. Seager
3. Turner
4. Harper
5. Muncy
6. Puig
7. Bellinger

I’d assume that Harper would go have to go to left field which would cause a ripple effect. The existing outfield candidates include Joc Pederson, Matt Kemp, Yasiel Puig, Alex Verdugo, Cody Bellinger, Chris Taylor, Kiké Hernandez, and Andrew Toles. At least two would have to go.

Sign Both

This is the $65 million option that would make for a really interesting lineup shuffle. With the assumption that Corey Seager is healthy:

1B – Turner
2B – Kiké/CT3
SS – Seager
3B – Machado
LF – Harper
CF – Bellinger
RF – Puig/Verdugo

If Seager can’t play major league quality shortstop then the defense might look like this:

1B – Seager
2B – Kiké/CT3
SS – Machado
3B – Turner
LF – Harper
CF – Bellinger
RF – Puig/Verdugo

How about this batting order:

1. Harper
2. Turner
3. Seager
4. Machado
5. Bellinger
6. Puig/Verdugo
7. 2B
8. C

Sign Neither

Even if neither is signed the lineup is still pretty strong:

1B – Muncy/Freese
2B – Kiké/CT3
SS – Seager
3B – Turner
LF – Joc/Kemp/CT3
CF – Bellinger
RF – Puig/Verdugo

The team still has an overflow of outfield talent. The biggest question is, what if Corey Seager cannot play shortstop? That is a risk that makes me a little concerned.

Conclusions

My fear about Seager not being able to handle shortstop makes me want to try for Machado again. To be able to have a bat like Seager or Machado at shortstop allows the lineup to be stronger. Harper doesn’t provide any versatility but his generational talent can’t be ignored. The Dodgers have the room to make a splash in free agency so I’m hopeful they sign an impact player.