The Dodgers Don't Need a Shortstop...and yet...

[puts R.E.M's 'Everybody Hurts' on in the background]

...So.

The Dodgers...didn't need Manny Machado. At least not as a franchise piece for a time longer than November 2018. They didn't need him for the reason that a lot of the other teams, like my hometown Philadelphia Phillies, needed him, which was as a boost to the next level of competition. The Dodgers didn't really need a boost. They're already one of the best teams in baseball, which has been cemented by the return of half the team from injuries, as well as the come-up of Max Muncy, and the return of Matt Kemp to fame and glory.

The Dodgers didn't need Manny Machado to simply compete. They needed him to win the World Series this year. Right now. This was a 'screw the future' kind of move for the Dodgers. A gamble. Sort of like the move that got them Yu Darvish last year, in exchange for a few players that haven't exactly blossomed for the Rangers. However, the Dodgers couldn't lock up Darvish (which, in hindsight, was a good idea), and they returned to the point they're at now...where they need to try the exact same move again, only this time at shortstop.

You can tell this is a 'right now' kind of move, because the Dodgers already have a shortstop. A rather good one. Corey Seager. But he's injured right now, and will be until next year. They also have a guy who's rather good at playing shortstop covering the position right now. Chris Taylor. But, to the Dodgers' credit, Taylor can play like 5 different positions, and it's better than giving a starting position to Enrique Hernandez.

So, this wasn't a desperate need for the Dodgers. And yet this movie still makes sense, as it's a one-upmanship move, a show of superiority over teams that have been borderline good in their division. It's a move that says they're ready to compete for this fall.

And it's also a move that destroys any chance of underdog classification they had going into the playoffs. So I'll continue to root for the team that actually might wrap Machado up for more than 4 months. Go Phils.