Four days before they take the field for their first Spring Training game, the San Diego Padres land superstar 3B/SS Manny Machado.
On Tuesday, Mark Feinsand first reported that the San Diego Padres and Manny Machado have agreed to a 10-year, $300M contract. The deal, according to Jeff Passan, includes an opt-out after the fifth year.
BREAKING: Manny Machado has agreed to terms on a deal with the Padres. According to a league source, it’s for 10 years and $300 million - the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.
— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 19, 2019
Entering free agency, Machado’s camp made it clear that they wanted to exceed Giancarlo Stanton‘s contract of 13-years, $325M. Well, Machado didn’t get the 13-year deal, but he will exceed Stanton’s AAV by $5M per year, officially making this the biggest contract in American professional sports history.
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Last season, Machado had perhaps the best offensive season of his career, hitting .297 with a .367 OBP and a .905 SLG. He’s hit 30 or more home runs each season for the last four years and has shown that he can hold his ground defensively at short.
After stirring a bit of trouble last postseason, many thought that teams would shy away from signing the surefire superstar. Over 110 days after the offseason officially started, however, Machado gets to have his cake and eat it too.
The question now is, where does Bryce Harper go?
Recently, it has been reported that the Philadelphia Phillies were heavy favorites to land Harper. Upon learning of the Machado signing, however, Andy Martino of SNY reported that Harper is uncertain about Philly.
Have been hearing lately Bryce Harper unsure about Philly. They'd better convince him for their sake.
— Andy Martino (@martinonyc) February 19, 2019
With the Washington Nationals, San Francisco Giants, and the Padres being the only teams to publicly express interest in Harper – the Padres are said to have offered Harper more than they offered Machado – you have to wonder where Bryce will decide to take his talents to.
Now, what exactly are the San Diego Padres thinking? Your guess is just as good as mine, but if they somehow manage to land both Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, do they improve enough to contend in the NL West?
Either way, the Pads are bucking the trend in a time where teams are looking for ways to save money.
It’ll be interesting to see where what moves they make next.