Padres make Machado's $300 million deal official
The San Diego Padres made their 10-year commitment to infielder Manny Machado official Thursday, revealing that the $300 million contract has an opt-out clause in five years. The contract, which runs through the 2028 season, would be the most lucrative in major league history if it plays out to its completion. The opt-out is available after the 2023 season. "Manny Machado is a generational talent, and we're ecstatic that he's chosen to spend his prime years in a San Diego Padres uniform," executive chairman Ron Fowler and general partner Peter Seidler said in a joint statement. "This momentous agreement speaks volumes to the direction of our organization, as well as our commitment to bringing a World Series Championship to the Friar Faithful and the City of San Diego." Padres executive vice president and general manager A.J. Preller was a reported a late arrival to the Machado free agent sweepstakes, but he made the deal come to fruition and now considers his middle-of-the-order force to be a cornerstone for a perennial contender. "Manny is one of the truly elite players in baseball and impacts the game on both sides of the ball," Preller said in a statement. "The resume that Manny has built at such a young age puts him in an exclusive club of big-league talent, and we feel fortunate to have the support of Ron, Peter and the entire ownership group to make this deal possible. We've spent the last several years building a foundation of talent throughout our system that allows us to make a landmark signing such as this." Despite playing for both the Baltimore Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers last season, Machado managed to see action in 162 games. The former No. 3 overall draft pick in 2010 then played in 16 postseason games, including five in the World Series as the Dodgers were defeated by the Boston Red Sox. Machado, 26, not only hit a combined 37 home runs -- tying a career high -- between the teams, but his 107 RBIs were a career best by 11. Machado has a .282 career batting average over 962 games, with 175 home runs and 513 RBIs. He is a four-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove Award winner, while finishing as high as fourth in the 2015 American League MVP voting. --Field Level Media
