MLB news: Willson Contreras shades Cubs, Freddie Freeman betrays Braves, Manny Machado update
MLB News: Manny Machado coyly leaves door open for Padres extension
Despite the Padres adding a superstar shortstop like Xander Bogaerts in free agency, it’s been Manny Machado who has been in the news more often leading into spring training. Most notably, the star third baseman has made it clear that he intends to exercise the opt-out clause in his contract after the 2023 season.
The resulting conversation has been about two things primarily. First, could the Padres potentially look to make another blockbuster trade this season ahead of the deadline, this time sending a star away in Machado? The other part of the equation, though, has been looking at where Machado could potentially land once he opts out and hits free agency.
On Friday, though, Machado made sure we didn’t forget about maybe the simplest option: Staying in San Diego.
Speaking with Dennis Lin of The Athletic (subscription required), Machado left the door open to signing an extension with the Padres rather than leaving in free agency. He iterated that the focus is to play baseball right now but said “nothing’s out of the question” when talking about staying in San Diego.
Given all of the chatter early in 2023, an extension with the Padres would be a shocking outcome. However, it doesn’t appear to be one that we should be so quick to discredit.