The San Diego Padres have consented to terms with free-operator infielder Manny Machado, reports ESPN’s Jeff Passan. Machado, 26, is a standout amongst the most pined with the expectation of free agents in MLB history, and the Padres’ arrival of him denotes a noteworthy coup this offseason.
Thatopt-out means Machado will have the choice of returning the free-agent market following his age-30 season.
Machado is coming off a strong 2018 for the Orioles and afterward Dodgers, who obtained him paving the way to the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline:
Manny Machado
LAD : 3B : 8
BA : 297
R : 84
HR : 37
RBI : 107
SB : 14
OPS : 905
For his career, Machado brags an OPS+ 121 crosswise over parts of seven major league seasons, and over that length he’s arrived at the midpoint of 31 homers and 37 doubles for every 162 games played. He demonstrated last season that he’s ready topin down shortstop on a regular basis, despite everything he profiles as a standout defensive third baseman. While Machado managed knee injuries earlier in his career, he’s played in no fewer than 156 games in each of the last four seasons. At age 26 – very youthful for a free agent – Machado fits any close , mid-, and long haul anticipating the piece of the Padres. That young pair with his expansive base of abilities, particularly his capacity, is the reason he could direction $300 million on the open market. Coming into the offseason, Machado was positioned as our No. 2 free agent, behind only Bryce Harper, who remains unsigned as of Tuesday afternoon.
In San Diego, Machado turns into the signature addition as the association rises to emerge from a thus-far successful rebuild. While Machado has expressed he likes to stay at shortstop going ahead, it appears to be likely he’ll come back to third base with the Padres. To some extent that is on the grounds that shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., who’s in the discussion for top prospect in all of baseball, figures to arrive in San Diego soon. Assuming Machado does slide over to third, here’s what the San Diego lineup could look like on Opening Day:
Ian Kinsler, 2B
Manny Machado, 3B
Eric Hosmer, 1B
Wil Myers, LF
Seeker Renfroe, RF
Franchy Cordero, CF
Luis Urias, SS
Austin Hedges, C
Manuel Margot likely turns into the right-gave half of a unit in focus field. Tatis will probably be ticketed for Triple-A to begin the season, so he could be landing in San Diego very soon. By then, Urias could move to second and knock the veteran Kinsler to a save job at numerous infield positions. Additionally in transit are catcher prospect Francisco Mejia and an unparalleled stock of arms. The Padres will be substantial dark horses in the NL West in 2019, even with Machado, but the future is uncommonly bright. As noted, Machado’s age means he fits any timeline GM A.J. Preller may have in mind.
That doesn’t move the needle as much as you may think, and regardless of whether the Padres overshoot that projection by a healthy margin the Dodgers will stay substantial top choices in the NL West. As noted, however, this is increasingly about Machado’s long haul standpoint and how it dovetails with the Padres impressive young core.
Indeed, even after the Machado marking, the Padres are still under $115 million for payroll in 2019, so there’s room to do even more if they’re willing. It’s also worth noting that because Machado was traded during the 2018 season, he was not eligible to receive a qualifying offer from the Dodgers. That in turn means that the Padres will not have to forfeit a draft pick for signing Machado.
