Star third baseman Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres are finalizing an 11-year, $350 million contract extension, sources familiar with the deal told ESPN.
Machado, 30 years-of-age, stated earlier this week he planned to opt out of the remaining five years (and $150 million) of his current deal with the Padres following the season after preliminary negotiations on an extension broke down. While Machado had set a hard February 16 deadline to reach a new deal, talks continued between Machado’s agent, Dan Lozano of MVP Sports, and Padres general manager A.J. Preller. The deal is expected to be official soon.
The franchise cornerstone of an ascending franchise, Machado is coming off arguably his best season as a pro, hitting .298/.366/.531 with 32 long balls and 102 RBIs. He finished second in National League MVP voting, behind Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals and led the Padres to the National League Championship Series, where they were defeated by Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies.
Machado’s arrival in San Diego in 2019 on a 10-year, $300 million deal began a new era for the Padres, who have yet to win a World Series in their 54-year history. Shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr. joined the Padres as a rookie during Machado’s first season in San Diego, and while the ballclub struggled to a 70-92 finish, they were able to find their footing in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, got a significant boost with the acquisition of star outfielder Juan Soto last year and continued to spend this winter with the signing of shortstop Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 million contract.
San Diego currently carries the third-highest competitive balance tax payroll in Major League Baseball at more than $266 million, according to Baseball Prospectus. With more than $600 million owed to Tatis and Bogaerts, nine-figure extensions for right-handers Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, and Soto’s impending free agency after the 2024 campaign, the question of whether the Padres would retain Machado was among the most pressing in baseball this spring.
As recently as last week, it sounded like a long shot. The Padres, sources told ESPN’s Alden Gonzalez, had offered Machado a five-year, $105 million extension on top of the six years and $180 million he is owed, including this season. Machado was looking for significantly more than the $25.45 million a year Bogaerts received and said he planned to opt out.
“Markets change,” Machado said.
Baseball certainly has since 2019, when Machado signed with the Padres following a long winter in which he and Bryce Harper, the other available star, did not sign their megadeals until late February, during spring training. San Diego has since turned into a powerhouse, and it hopes to catch and surpass their rival the Los Angeles Dodgers for NL West supremacy this year after beating them in the division series in 2022.
In four seasons with the Padres, Machado has hit 108 home runs and driven in 340 runs while hitting .280/.352/.504 and winning a pair of Gold Gloves at third base. The Padres did not let the failed negotiations the first time around deter them from their ultimate goal, bumping their offer by more than $50 million as owner Peter Seidler called extending Machado “my top priority” this spring.
Had Machado reached the free agent market off a typical year, the interest in him would have been out of this world. The New York Mets were thought of as a particularly good fit for him, and other organizations would have put themselves in prime position to be suitor for his services, but Machado’s desire to remain in San Diego, amid its championship push, helped drive the sides toward a deal.
In Machado, the Padres locked up a player not only on a Hall of Fame arc but who has played his best baseball in recent memory. Like Bogaerts and Darvish, Machado will be signed into his 40s once the deal is completed, and it would take him well past two decades in the majors.
Machado made his debut with the Baltimore Orioles just after his 20th birthday and grew into a perennial top-five MVP candidate by his fourth season, when he hit .286/.359/.502 with 35 home runs, one of six 30-homer-plus seasons. His combination of power, above-average plate discipline and an elite glove and arm made him an undeniable offensive and defensive combination, and no lineup in baseball boasts a foursome as fearsome as him, Soto, Bogaerts and Tatis, the latter of whom can rejoin San Diego on April 20 after his 80-game performance-enhancing drug suspension ends.
The deal is the fourth-largest guarantee in the game’s history, behind those for Aaron Judge, Mike Trout, and Mookie Betts.
