Dodgers Rumor Round-Up: Machado, Pollock, Minor Leagues

When Manny Machado was acquired by the Dodgers the general feeling was he would be there to help win a World Series and pursue a career as a shortstop with the Yankees afterward.

Machado’s move to LA was in light of Corey Seager’s injury. The Dodgers’ star shortstop had Tommy John surgery and immediately, a team looking to win a World Series Trophy had a massive hole to fill.

For months, Machado was the filler. He played shortstop and even some third base. As a Dodgers, Machado hit .273 with 13 home runs and 6 stolen bases but all the while the intention was never for him to stay.

On Friday, Jan. 18, it was reported that Manny Machado’s father leaked a list of team that offered the young star a contract. The Dodgers were on that list.

Bringing Machado back makes little sense. Sure, the Dodgers are and have always been a team that will do what it takes defensively to put the best lineup out there but bringing Machado back put incredible strain on the defensive landscape of the team.

Corey Seager will return and even at a limited capacity, Seager’s need to see the field will impede on Machado’s every day opportunity to start.

You could argue that the Dodgers could move Machado back to third base and put Justin Turner at second but that is a dramatic shift in Turner’s skill set and one that makes a player unhappy.

On top of the logistics, Machado created a pretty negative name from himself in Los Angeles during the playoffs when he said that hustling was not apart of his game. The 26-year-old shortstop was caught jogging out ground balls that were arguably beatable to the bag.

Bringing back Machado has a whole lot of complications attached to it and, while I’m sure the Dodgers checked in and offered a minimalistic deal, Machado playing for the Dodgers again is a long shot.