Winners and losers from Machado’s $300 million deal with Padres

9:02 am | February 19, 2019 | Go to Source | Author:

1:21 PM ET

It took 113 days of free agency to play out, but Manny Machado is headed to San Diego on the largest deal ever handed out to a free agent. What does the deal mean for baseball’s new $300 million man, the team that signed him and other interested parties (read: Harper, Bryce)? We asked ESPN baseball writers Eddie Matz, David Schoenfield and Sam Miller to break it down.

Gut reaction: Do you like this deal for the Padres?

Miller: Gut reaction, yes. The Padres probably won’t be very good this year, but with the best current farm system in baseball they probably will be quite good in many of the next half-dozen years, and players like Manny Machado aren’t just freely available to pick up when a team decides to flip the switch and compete. They just got an MVP candidate for the middle of the lineup and all it cost them was money.

Schoenfield: Absolutely. Over the past four seasons, Machado has averaged 36 home runs, 159 games and 5.8 WAR. They gave superstar money to a superstar player, as opposed to superstar-type money to Eric Hosmer. Machado becomes the face of the franchise and by midseason will likely be teaming with rookie Fernando Tatis Jr. to give the Padres one of the best left sides of the infield in the majors. For a franchise that hasn’t had a winning season since 2010 or made the playoffs since 2006, they finally are moving in the right direction.

Matz: What’s not to like? Manny immediately brings major sizzle to San Diego.

Who is the biggest winner of Machado joining the Padres?

Miller: Cleveland. With the White Sox failing to sign Machado, Cleveland can now be pretty sure no other team in the division will win even 85 games this year. Terry Francona can start resting his players for the playoffs … now.

Schoenfield: Baseball writers. Something to write about besides “Where will Machado and Harper end up?” OK, the free-agent market is also the winner here, because for all the whining, Machado got the contract everyone expected at the start of free agency.

Matz: Machado. Forget about the $300 mil — he gets to live in San Diego! Close runner-up: Bryce Harper. If Machado’s getting $300 million from the Friars, imagine the check that John “Stupid Money” Middleton is going to cut to seal the deal for Harper.

Who is the biggest loser of Machado joining the Padres?

Miller: I don’t really see a loser. The Padres got a good player, the player got a reasonable contract, and the other 29 teams all have plenty else to worry about.

Schoenfield: The Phillies. Reports all along suggested Machado was the player they preferred over Harper. Now one of them is off the board and there’s no guarantee Harper will sign there either.

As Manny Machado signing with the Padres sinks in, here are five facts about the deal that will blow your mind — or at the very least impress your friends:

1. Machado’s $300 million deal is the largest ever for a free agent American sports history, surpassing A-Rod’s 10-year, $275 million deal.

2. By adding Machado at $300 million after signing Eric Hosmer for $144 million last winter, the Padres have spent more on two players than they did in their previous 25 offseasons combined.

3. Machado was a free agent (113 days) longer than he was a Dodger (102 days).

4. Machado was an All-Star starter in 2018. So who was the last Padres position player to start a Midsummer Classic? That would be Tony Gwynn in 1998. (Though we should note that Wil Myers got the hometown start at DH in 2016.

5. The Padres signed Machado on February 19, 2019 — exactly one year to the date after they inked Hosmer last winter.

Matz: Fernando Tatis Jr. So what if Manny’s way better at third base. If he wants to play shortstop, then Tatis — the No. 2-ranked prospect in baseball — might get bumped to the hot corner.

Now that Machado is headed to San Diego, who is the favorite to land Bryce Harper?

Miller: Machado getting a normal deal reassures us that this is still a relatively normal market and probably rules out the possibility that some team was going to swoop in and get Harper for a short deal or an unthinkable bargain. So the most likely outcome is probably just the least surprising one: the Phillies.

Schoenfield: Most people will say the Phillies. We’ll see.

Matz: Phillies.

Manny got $300 million over 10 years. How much more do you think Bryce Harper will get?

Miller: Ten and $330 million.

Schoenfield: How desperate are the Phillies? That’s what we don’t know. I think Machado is the better player — or at least the more consistent. Harper has the bigger upside based on his 2015 season, but there are more risks involved, especially given his poor defense in 2018. But Scott Boras will probably find a way to extract a couple extra million more than Machado received. And then everyone can stop their whining.

Matz: Harper gets $350 million over 10 years, simultaneously breaking Giancarlo Stanton’s record for largest contract ever — $325 million — and Zack Greinke’s mark for highest AAV, $34.4 million.