Chicago Cubs: Manny Machado could reinvigorate the Crosstown Classic

Chicago Cubs: South Side rivals have made strides this winter

The Sox have already made a splash this offseason, adding several talented pieces to supplement their young core, including Kelvin Herrera, Jon Jay, Ivan Nova, Yonder Alonso, James McCann and Alex Colome.

This means even pre-Machado, GM Rick Hahn has already added a good amount of talent to the Sox roster heading into 2019. This crew of veterans will definitely make Chicago a much more competitive group. However, Hahn doesn’t appear to be done.

It’s worth noting that two of these players, Jon Jay and Yonder Alonso, are close friends (and in Alonso’s case, family) with the free agent slugger. If the Sox can land the highly coveted shortstop, expectations for the 2019 season would drastically change.

Sure, the Sox have all these new veterans to pair with improving young stars, so won’t the rivalry naturally get better? Yes, but Machado is not only the missing piece for the Sox, but for the rivalry too, and there are a few reasons why.