Who would Chicago Cubs trade for Manny Machado?

Addison Russell

This name is at the forefront of just about every Chicago Cubs fan’s mind in relation to a Manny Machado trade. And there are a few reasons for that.

First off, they would ostensibly be playing the same position. Though it wouldn’t be a straight-up one-for-one trade, it makes sense to move Russell to make room for Machado.

You could move Javier Baez and move Russell back to second base, of course, but then Chicago would probably spontaneously explode. Baez has been an NL MVP candidate, so I’m not sure why you’d do that. But I digress.

Also, Russell, despite not exactly being the type of dominant player people hoped for, is still a solid one. He has a smooth glove at shortstop and shows occasional flashes of the big-time power he displayed when he hit 21 home runs and drove in 95 runs in an All-Star 2016 campaign.

At age 24, you can sell a team on him having plenty of time to regain that form with him still being young.

Long story short, putting Machado at shortstop makes this team far more dangerous than having Russell there. And you get to keep Baez (in theory), Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo in your infielder.

Wow. Just think of what that batting order would look like. I’d say sacrificing Russell would be well worth it. Thanks for the memories, kid.