Manny Machado went 2-for-3 with two walks in his Dodgers’ debut Friday against the Brewers, while the Phillies moved on without him, scoring 11 runs in a 11-5 win over the Pardes.

Sure, they were hoping to land the star shortstop to help make a playoff push, but Phillies GM Matt Klentak says while they made a strong push to acquire the all-star, they can still be in play to get him this offseason.

"We made a pretty strong run at it," Klentak told reporters.  "A lot of you have heard me say this before, being active in the rental market is not the best place to be.  We felt in this particular case that this player presented a pretty unique opportunity for us, and that's why we did get aggressive. There was a lot of discussion about if it was the right thing to do, where we are as a franchise, and if it was the right direction to take."

While they might not have landed Machado, Phillies manager Gabe Kapler still believes that the current group of players is good enough to win the National League East and make the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

"The men in this room right now are capable of winning the National League East," said Kapler. "The theory behind that is, we have young players and they are still developing and they get a little bit better in the second-half."

 

 

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