Padres make splash by getting Machado with $300M deal
Manny Machado, the four-time all-star infielder, has agreed to a 10-year, $300-million contract with the San Diego Padres, according to a person familiar with the situation. His arrival signals another effort from the Padres to accelerate their rebuild, while turning attention toward Bryce Harper, the other unsigned star on the market.
Machado, 26, hit 37 home runs with a .905 on-base plus slugging percentage for the Baltimore Orioles and the Dodgers in 2018. His production dipped after joining the Dodgers in July, and he raised eyebrows with lapses in effort during the postseason. He still profiles as a player worth building around, as the Padres look to rise above .500 for the first time since 2010.
San Diego deemed Machado worthy of the largest free-agent contract in the history of American sports, although still shy of the 13-year, $325-million deal given by the Miami Marlins to Giancarlo Stanton in 2014. Machado can opt out of the deal after the fifth year, according to Yahoo Sports.
Machado joins a Padres team that won 66 games in 2018. The team had splurged in the winter before that season, paying $144 million for first baseman Eric Hosmer. Machado can now join him in the infield. He had to wait until position players reported to camp before taking the deal, as players groused about a slow-moving market.
With Machado signed, Harper can pick between the remaining suitors. He is believed to have received serious interest from the Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Giants and the Washington Nationals, who reportedly offered a 10-year, $300-million extension last fall. NEWCOMBE DIES AT 92 >> Former National League MVP and Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Don Newcombe, one of the Dodgers franchise’s final links to Brooklyn, passed away Tuesday after a lengthy illness. He was 92.
Los Angeles team president Stan Kasten called Newcombe “a role model for major leaguers across the country . ... The Dodgers meant everything to him and we are all fortunate he was a part of our lives.”
Newcombe, a right-hander, pitched for 10 seasons in the majors, earning NL Rookie of the Year honors in 1949 and All-Star selections in 1949, 1950, 1951 and 1955. Newcombe retired after the 1960 season with a record of 149-90, a 3.56 ERA and 1,129 strikeouts with the Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds (1958-60) and Cleveland Indians (1960). He missed the 1952 and 1953 seasons due to military service.
CAUGHT STEALING >> Looking to prevent sign-stealing, Major League Baseball is set to tighten its in-house video rules, Sports Illustrated’s Tom Verducci reported.
According to the report, MLB will ban outfield cameras, aside from the live broadcast feed, from foul pole to foul pole. Clubhouse and bullpen televisions will have access to the game feed only on an eight-second delay. Teams’ designated replay-watchers, who determine whether the club should ask the umpires for an official review, still will get access to the live video feed. However, a monitor will make sure those employees have no communication with the rest of the team regarding signs.