Manny Machado Finally Signs

One of the MLB’s biggest free agents has finally signed with a team, although it seems a little weird. Manny Machado has officially signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres, the biggest contract in the history of American sports. The move seems weird for Machado, who is arguably one of the best young players in baseball. San Diego hasn’t made the playoffs since 2006, and shows no signs of changing that any time soon. They were comfortably in last place in the NL West last year, 7 games behind 4th place. PetCo Park is also famous for being a pitcher’s ballpark, which isn’t something that a power hitter like Machado should find favorable. But apparently money talks, and San Diego made sure to scream their offer to the tune of $30 mil/year. Who knows, Machado may be the missing piece for the Padres. They do have one the best rated farm systems in baseball. It might not be this year, but maybe within the next few years, the Padres could be a dominant force in the NL West. The good news for Machado is if things don’t work out, he has the option to opt out after his fifth season.

The bigger question is, what does the Machado signing mean for the rest of the market? Specifically, Bryce Harper. Harper is another great talent and I’m sure he thinks he’s worth as much, if not more than Machado. Harper could be looking to eclipse that $30 mil/year mark. The White Sox were in the running for Machado, but ultimately said they couldn’t reach the $300 million level that the Padres did. Could this mean that teams don’t have the money for Harper? Maybe he’ll be forced to take a shorter contract if he wants to make $30 million+. Or maybe he’ll just have to settle on a lower number than Machado. Either way, this Machado signing was certainly historic, and resets the market for free agents everywhere.

-Stephen Brown III (@sbtrey23)

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