Red Sox should not trade for Manny Machado
By Sean Penney
Also, keep in mind that trading for Machado takes them out of the free agent market this year. Machado is projected to make $17.3 million in 2018. If the Red Sox are adding that much to their payroll and gearing up to sign him to a long-term deal next year then they aren’t signing J.D. Martinez this winter.
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Machado is a better all-around player than Martinez but not by enough to warrant giving up Bogaerts, Devers or another young asset to acquire him instead of the top free agent bat.
Leaking a rumor that the Red Sox are interested in Machado may simply be a ploy by Dombrowski to gain leverage in free agent negotiations with Martinez. Super-agent Scott Boras has been steadfast in holding to a high price tag for his client, resulting in the free agent market moving at a snail’s pace. The threat of Boston pivoting to a trade could force Boras to back down.
The market for a defensively challenged slugger looking for north of $20 million per year is a shallow pool to begin with, so Boras risks overplaying his hand if he allows the Red Sox to walk away from the table. Martinez to Boston almost seems inevitable in part because there aren’t many other suitors. Dombrowski may be trying to show Boras that he does have other options.