New York Yankees: If the Yanks sign Manny Machado, they need to trade Didi Gregorius
Big change for Didi
Adding Manny Machado would mean that changes would come to the Yankees.
But what are those changes?
If the Yankees managed to sign Manny Machado it would officially mean they’d be moving on from Didi Gregorius. As sad as that makes many Yankees fans, including myself, it would be a change for the better.
To truly comprehend how much better Manny Machado is you have to look at Gregorius’ stats alongside Machado’s.
Manny Machado: 188 H, .287 AVG, 37 HR, 107 RBI,15 SB, 84 R.
Didi Gregorius: 135 H, .268 AVG, 27 HR, 86 RBI, 10 SB, 89 R.
Let that sink in, with the exception of runs, Manny Machado leads Didi Gregorius in each and every stat.
Not only that, Machado is also a better fielder than Gregorius.
The only thing other than runs which Gregorius does better than Machado is being a leader. Gregorius is clearly one of the leaders in the Yankees clubhouse and Machado has never served in a leadership role.
Machado is constantly scrutinized for his lack of hustle and his sometimes dirty play, and for that reason many teams and fans don’t want to sign the All-Star.
But if you manage to look past that, you’ll see one of the best, if not the best shortstop in the league and the Yankees would only improve with the addition of Machado.
But what would happen to Didi?
Gregorius is out until at least June, plus he’s a free agent following the 2019 season, but he’s also too good of a player to be sitting on the bench.
So with this being said, the Yankees would likely attempt to trade him potentially in hopes of getting either a first baseman or pitching out of him.
The only problem with trading him is the fact that he is only under contract for this season.
However, you might see something like Manny Machado’s situation where he was traded to the Dodgers with the Dodgers hoping they could keep him around once he becomes a free agent.
So who could the Yankees potentially go after should they trade Gregorius?