The San Diego Padres and Manny Machado are finalizing an 11-year, $350 million contract extension, per ESPN and MLB.com. It’ll be the fourth-largest guarantee contract in MLB history. It follows Aaron Judge ($360 million), Mookie Betts ($365 million) and Mike Trout ($427 million).
The Associated Press (AP) has also reported that Machado will need to pass a physical before the deal is finalized this spring.
The news came as a surprise after the All-Star third baseman shared that he was planning to exercise the opt-out clause in his current contract with San Diego after this 2023 season. This would forfeit $150 million after preliminary negotiations on an extension busted down.
Machado has previously signed a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres in February 2019. That deal gave him the right to terminate after this current season and become an MLB-free agent. His contract was first a record for a free agent when he agreed to it and the second-largest in the league behind New York Yankees outfielder and designated hitter Giancarlo Stanton $325 million.
The Padres already had reportedly offered Machado a five-year, $105 million extension on top of the six years and $180 million he was owed on his large 2019 deal. However, he apparently was seeking more than the $25.45 million a year Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts received from the club (11 years, $280 million).
A six-time MLB All-Star, Machado is coming off a campaign where he finished second in the National League MVP voting, batting .298 with 32 homers, 102 RBIs, a .366 on-base percentage and a .531 slugging percentage.
His impact and performance helped the Padres go 89-73 and hunt in the postseason. They reached the NL Championship Series before falling to the Philadelphia Phillies. San Diego has yet to win a World Series in their 54-year history.
So far this season in spring training, Machado committed the league’s first pitch-clock infraction in an exhibition spring game after failing to step into the batter’s box for his first pitch in an efficient manner. All hitters now must be in the box when there are eight seconds left on the clock. Machado wasn’t, leading to an automatic strike call and beginning his at-bat with an 0-1 count.
The Padres will be an interesting team to follow this upcoming season, especially with additions of infielders Xander Bogarets, Nelson Cruz and pitcher Michael Wacha.
