Machado just blew the MLB free agency bank wide open.
The Padres just shocked everyone with the news that they had come to terms on an agreement with free agent Manny Machado. Although the deal between the two parties hasn’t officially been signed, the media got hold of the biggest, eye popping part of the contract.
Jeff Passan on Twitter
BREAKING: Free agent star Manny Machado has agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres, league sources tell ESPN.
Jeff Passan on Twitter
Manny Machado’s deal, as @Feinsand first reported, is for 10 years and $300 million with an opt-out after the fifth season. A monumental deal — the single biggest free agent contract in American sports history. And now every eye in baseball turns to Bryce Harper. His move.
10 years, $300 million.
Yes. $300 million!
The Padres just blew the MLB free agency doors wide open with this piece of news, eclipsing A-Rod’s 10-year, $275 million deal he signed with the Yankees after the 2007 season.
Machado started the 2018 season off hot, batting .315 and smashing 24 home runs and 65 RBIs for the Orioles. He played for the Dodgers in the second half of the 2018 season, batting .274 and hitting only 13 home runs with 42 RBIs over 66 games. In the postseason, he cooled off even more, hitting .227 with 3 home runs and 12 RBIs, which inclues going 4-22 in the World Series.
But it appears that the Padres had seen enough of Machado in his career to give the highly sought after free agent the bank account busting deal. He was selected with the third overall pick in the 2010 draft and two years later, at the age of 20, he made his big league debut. He’s now 26 years old and a four-time All- Star, so his potential is great.
With less than two months before the start of the 2019 season, all eyes have shifted to San Diego, so the rumbling you hear is the sound of the media running to Petco Park.
That other sound you hear is Bryce Harper salivating as he waits on his free agent offer.