Where There’s Smoke, There’s Fire: Sounds Like Manny Machado Could Be a Phillie Sooner Than Later

So, let’s just start this article by checking out a bunch of tweets from a bunch of guys who have blue check marks and have a lot more inside information regarding the Manny Machado trade situation than I do. Then, let’s play connect the dots:

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. This is like when Lebron was a free agent in Miami and all of a sudden there was a moving truck outside his home in Miami, you knew he was leaving for Cleveland. Respected MLB insiders state there is a deal in place for Manny Machado once the All-Star festivities are over. The Phillies apparently have a big deal they are going to announce shortly after they upped their offer for Machado…that man is gone, Baltimore. I am not sure if that “handshake agreement” the internet has been hyping up is real, but he’s gone.

I was listening to Machado in his post-game interview yesterday and he was talking about his time in Baltimore, what the city and fans meant to him, and how this team was still special even though it has been challenging. It sounded a whole lot like the unofficial goodbye. He did everything but take a page out in the local newspaper to thank the fans.

The Orioles, and their fans, have to feel like the toys at the end of Toy Story 3. Andy is leaving and it’s inevitable. The toys can only hope that they can make some more memories with whoever replaces Andy.

For the Phillies, I don’t really have a Pixar comparison but I’m absolutely stoked. Machado is a name that the front office in Philadelphia has obviously coveted for a long time. Never did they probably think that they would need Machado for a post All-Star break playoff push as the team sits in first place. Matt Klentak and John Middleton have both stated they are willing to spend whatever it takes to win. If the Phillies truly “upped their offer” for Machado, I have to assume they got an unofficial long term commitment from the third baseman/ shortstop.

I think Machado’s impact on the Phillies roster goes way beyond a lethal bat in the lineup. What this team is really missing is a household name that garners fan attention. I’ve been on record before as saying this Phillies team really hasn’t gotten the blood flowing, despite their success. When the Phillies season began, the Sixers had just won their 8th of 17th straight. The Eagles were around two months removed from winning the Super Bowl (in case you missed it). The Phillies fell by the wayside right from the jump. Now, as they sit in first place, it is their time to shine. The documentary on the 2008 World Series Team was great. Bringing in Machado would create the biggest buzz around the franchise since that time.

By Aidan Powers | July 16, 2018