by The Padres and the third baseman Manny Machado finalizing an 11-year, $350MM contract, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The contract will start this year, per Bob Nightengale of the UNITED STATES of America today, which means it runs through 2033. That will be Machado’s age-40 season. Since Machado had six years and $180MM left on his previous deal, this new deal will add five years and $170MM in new money. There is no opt-out in the new deal, per Dennis Lin and Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic. Machado will also have a full no-trade clause, per Lin.
Machado, 30, originally signed a 10-year, $300MM contract with the Padres entering 2019, and that deal gave him the ability to opt out after five years. That opt-out was looming at the end of the upcoming season and multiple factors made it seem like an easy decision for Machado. For one thing, he continued to produce at an elite level, including a 2022 season that was perhaps his best yet. He hit 32 home runs and stole nine bases last year, finishing the season with a .298/.366/.531 batting line. His 152 wRC+ suggests he was 52% better than the league average hitter. He also graded out eight Ways Above Average at third base, and his overall contributions resulted in 7.4 wins above replacement according to FanGraphs calculations.
In addition, the market for elite players is quite strong this winter, with many players going deep into nine-figure territory. Aaron Judge received a $360MM guarantee, Trea Turner got $300MM, Xander Bogaerts $280MM, Dansby Swanson $177MM, Carlos Rodón $162MM, Jacob deGrom $185mm and Brandon Nimmo $162MM. Given that Machado had five years and $150MM left on his contract at the end of this year, taking the opt-out was the obvious choice financially and Machado has been quite open about his plans to take that route .
It was reported earlier this month that the Padres were planning to extend Machado to prevent him from opting out, although talks appeared to be in jeopardy as recently as a week ago. It was reported at the time that Machado’s camp had set a Feb. 16 deadline for negotiations, after which he would prefer to put contract talks aside to focus on baseball. Apparently the club offered to add five years and $105MM to his deal, which wasn’t enough to get pen to paper. With the deadline passed, it always looked like the season would begin with uncertainty, although reports on Friday indicated that talks were continuing. It looks like the Brothers did enough with their offer to get Machado’s representatives back to the table and work out a deal.
More to come.
