Manny Machado has agreed to a 10-year, $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres, league sources told Jeff Passan, thus ending one of the longest and drawn out free agencies of all time. According to Passan, the deal includes an opt-out after the fifth season.
Machado’s deal is now the largest free agent contract given out in North American sports. However, this deal could soon be surpassed by a Bryce Harper deal.
The deal exceeds the reportedly 8-year, $250 million deal offered by the Chicago White Sox. According to Ken Rosenthal, the White Sox offer included incentives and options that could bring the total value of the deal to $350 million. The news of Machado’s agreement has left Chicago White Sox executive vice president Kenny Williams “shocked,” as they believed they were frontrunners for signing the young star.
This deal comes at an opportune time for the Padres to build around Machado and begin a lengthy window for championship contention. The Padres farm system currently ranks as the best in baseball. With Machado entering his age-27 season and many of their top prospects expected to make their debuts in 2019 and 2020, San Diego’s long rebuild will soon begin paying off if everything goes according to plan.
Even with the Machado signing and the Hosmer deal last year, the expected payroll is still expected to sit just north of $100 million.
Machado slides in perfectly at third base for the Friars. With Wil Myers moving back to the outfield, the Padres did not have a starting third baseman. In addition, the Padres expect to also build around top prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. and Luis Urias, who are middle infielders. At third base, where Machado is expected to play, he has long been one of the best defenders in the game.
Machado also provides a powerful presence in the middle of the Padres lineup. Machado has hit over 30 home runs in each of the last four seasons and posted a 146 OPS+ last season.
Machado was clearly a perfect fit for the Padres, it was just a question of whether San Diego would be willing to hand out the money, and whether Machado would want to play in San Diego. This move instantly makes the Padres one of the most intriguing teams in the league.
Featured Photo: Ian D’Andrea | Flickr
