How the Manny Machado deal happened and what it means for the Padres

Manny Machado is the latest Padres star to sign a mammoth contract. Here’s how the $350 million deal happened what it means going forward.

Manny Machado made it abundantly clear how much he loved being in San Diego. Padres owner Peter Seidler said that extending Machado was his “top priority.” And when there’s strong mutual interest, deals are often consummated.

On Sunday morning, Machado and the Padres agreed to a 11-year, $350 million contract extension, league sources tell FanSided. The deal, which is pending a physical, includes a full no-trade clause, no opt-outs and no club or player options.

The contract replaces his previous 10-year, $300 million pact that he signed in 2019. Machado, 30, became the face of the Padres’ new era and has hit .280/.352/.504 with 108 home runs and 340 RBI while being one of baseball’s best defensive third basemen. He guided the team to a National League Championship Series in 2022 and with the team’s World Series window open for years to come, will earn $470 million over 15 seasons in San Diego.

How the Padres extension with Manny Machado happened

It’s the latest mammoth commitment in what has been a historic spending-spree by the small-market Padres. In 2021, on the eve of spring training, San Diego signed Fernando Tatis Jr. to a 14-year, $340 million extension. In 2022, they traded a significant portion of their farm system to acquire Juan Soto and Josh Hader. After the season, they signed Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year, $280 contract and extended Yu Darvish on a six-year, $108 million contract through his age-42 season.

And the Padres are not done. Far from it.

There are obvious in-house candidates for contract extensions. Juan Soto is two years away from reaching free agency and is expected to command a contract in the $500 million range. Josh Hader is a free agent after the 2023 season and is a strong candidate to sign a contract worth more than Edwin Diaz’s five-year, $102 million extension. Jake Cronenworth is a potential extension candidate, perhaps this year or the year after.

Then there’s Shohei Ohtani. The Padres expressed interest in acquiring Ohtani at the 2022 trade deadline and the team is once again expected to express interest in the superstar two-way player when he becomes a free agent after this season. A pairing seems unimaginable — Ohtani is expected to sign a contract worth north of $500 million — and the Padres’ payroll is already at record levels.

But nothing should be ruled out with Seidler and general manager A.J. Preller running the team. The Soto and Hader trades proved it last season, and the Machado extension was the latest proof.