Shortly before the Padres kicked off spring training, Manny Machado expressed his expectation to opt out after the 2023 Major League Baseball season and test free agency.
So much for that.
ESPN's Jeff Passan on Sunday morning reported Machado and San Diego are close to completing a monstrous contract extension for the star third baseman. The 11-year, $350 million deal Machado is expected to sign with the Padres will mark the fourth-richest contract in MLB history, only trailing the current contracts of Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge.
The reported extension for Machado also carries out a string of lucrative, long-term deals handed out by San Diego, which started with the 14-year, $340 million contract given to Fernando TatÃs Jr. in the spring of 2021. The Padres locked up Joe Musgrove (five years, $100 million) at the tail end of the 2022 season and made one of the biggest splashes in free agency with an 11-year, $280 million deal for Xander Bogaerts. Two months later, San Diego inked ace Yu Darvish to a six-year, $108 million pact.
The run of paydays on the Pacific Coast of California figures to continue in the near future, too. Juan Soto, acquired by the Padres ahead of the 2022 trade deadline, will need a new contract soon and it very well might require a record-setting deal to keep the 24-year-old in house for the long haul.
Even with so many prominent pieces in place, the Padres aren't among the favorites to win the Fall Classic this fall. With Opening Day a little over a month away, San Diego has the sixth-shortest odds at DraftKings Sportsbook to win the 2023 World Series.
