Cardinals Might Sign Manny Machado or Bryce Harper

There are many great Major League Baseball players who are available on the free agent market right now. Every expert would agree that the best of the bunch are Manny Machado and Bryce Harper. Both players are only 26 years old and have their best years ahead of them. Machado is coming off his best overall season after spending the first part of the year with the Baltimore Orioles. He was then traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline and helped them reach the World Series. Bryce Harper had a season where he failed to hit .250. That might concern some teams that are thinking about giving him a lot of money over many years. However, he did hit 34 home runs and drive in 100 runs.

Harper has had a history of injury problems. He has only had one truly great season when he won the National League Most Valuable Player award in 2015. He has failed to duplicate the numbers he put up that season. However, he does offer excellent power and the ability to get on base by drawing a lot of walks. Therefore, his on-base percentage is always good even if he is not hitting for a high average.

According to cbssports.com, there has been much speculation about where both of these great players will go. The St. Louis Cardinals have gotten involved in the discussion as a possible destination for Machado and Harper. Bill Dewitt is the current President of the Cardinals. He was asked recently if the Cardinals would be able to afford a contract north of $300 million that it would take to attract either Harper or Machado. He said that the Cardinals could afford it because they have the room on their payroll. He said it is just a question of putting all of their eggs in one basket. That basically means that the Cardinals would not be signing anyone else if they were to land Harper or Machado.

The Yankees, Phillies and Cubs are the teams that are being talked about the most when it comes to signing the two biggest free agents on the market. The Cardinals have not been part of the discussion. However, the team has tried to get big players in the past who had high price tags. They wanted to trade for Giancarlo Stanton last year before he was sent to the Yankees. It remains to be seen what the Cardinals will do.