Philadelphia Phillies are hopefully monitoring Manny Machado during 2018 playoffs

Once free agency gets underway this offseason, Manny Machado is one name worth monitoring when it comes to the Philadelphia Phillies.

As painful as it is for Philadelphia Phillies fans to continue watching the postseason while wondering what could have been, the good news for Gabe Kapler‘s squad is there’s at least one reason to follow the Los Angeles Dodgers.

A few months back, the Phillies were viewed as a potential landing spot for Manny Machado, and even though the team came up short in a trade, that doesn’t mean the shortstop can’t come on board during the offseason.

Even though his mind is focused on helping the Dodgers make the playoffs at the moment, Machado knows it’s only a matter of time before that big payday comes in free agency, whether it happens to be with Los Angeles or another team.

Only time will tell when it comes to whether Philadelphia expresses interest in Machado or even has a shot at landing the superstar. But for now, the Phillies are most likely on the same page as a few other teams when it comes to monitoring Machado during the Dodgers playoff run to see what potential impact he could make for 2019 and beyond.

Just look at Friday’s opener of the NLCS against the Milwaukee Brewers in which Machado made a huge impact after going 2-for-4 with three RBIs, including a key home run in the second inning that at the time gave the Dodgers an early 1-0 lead.

Losing the game 6-5 was a tough pill to swallow since it’s always frustrating to watch a Clayton Kershaw outing go to waste, but if Los Angeles needs one positive factor to take away from the loss, it would easily be Machado.

The better Machado continues to play in the postseason, the higher his stock is going to be in the offseason since one can only imagine the kind of hefty contract he’s going to land with plenty of teams having money to spend, one of which happens to be the Phillies.

For quite some time, 2019 has been considered a big offseason for Philadelphia since the team knew they would be one of a few clubs that could afford someone like Machado.

Without question, this past season made it clear just how desperate the Phillies are for a power hitter, and he may not be on the team at the moment, but that doesn’t mean Philadelphia fans won’t be rooting for him over these next few weeks.