Here’s why the Manny Machado signing is good for baseball

The Padres have signed Manny Machado, but people were expecting him to go to a better team, but the signing was good for baseball.

There are two reasons why the Manny Machado signing is good for baseball.

1. Machado got his money

All offseason, if you turned on the television on any sport channel, all they were talking about was the notion that Machado and Harper were not going to get paid $300 million because no major league front office wants to handcuff themselves for ten years because of one player, and that player is going to get old.

Well, this signing proved all of them wrong because he got the $300 million that everyone originally thought he was going to get before his postseason antics occurred as a Dodger.

Craig Kimbrel, Dallas Keuchel, Marwin Gonzalez, and Bryce Harper are still not signed, so this signing was crucial for them because Kimbrel and Keuchel can perhaps increase their prices because they know that the deal will be for less years, and they know that the team’s do have the money.

Then, when Bryce Harper’s camp heard the news of Machado’s contract, they should have been jumping up and down in excitement because now Harper will get $300 million.

In fact, he will get much more than $300 million because there have been multiple reports that have stated that Bryce Harper will get much more money than Machado, simply because he hits the same amount of home runs, and is one of those players that is marketable and can ignite a clubhouse.

2. Machado did not sign with a big market team

I am sure Manny Machado signing with the Padres is exactly what Rob Manfred and the league wanted because he goes to a smaller market team, which will bring more eyes to San Diego.

For the last decade, the smaller market teams like the Padres do not get any love from the national audience or broadcasters because they don’t have that big star, but now they do.

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Free agents usually want to go sign with the big market teams who are contending right now because they are impatient and want to be in the spotlight right when they sign on the dotted line, but Machado has showed through this signing that big players are fine with signing with teams like the Padres.

In recent off-seasons, J.D. Martinez signed with the Red Sox, Dexter Fowler signed with the Cardinals, and Jason Heyward signed with the Cubs. These are just a few examples of big players at the time when they were free agents, who signed with big market teams.

But now with Machado signing with the Padres, and Eric Hosmer signing last off season with them as well, this should start a trend of players signing with ‘up and coming teams’ and not just the big teams who are contending right now.

It is good for baseball because now there is some diversity in the game because you have star players all over the league including some in the small markets. There is Trout in Anaheim; Puig, Kemp, and Votto in Cincinnati; and the White Sox are in contention for Bryce Harper.

The league is now in a very good place, which needs to be encouraging for both the players and the league.