Machado rips RBI double after agreeing to $350M deal

Manny Machado continues to be a very rich man. He also is still a very good hitter.

Machado ripped an RBI double on Sunday, the same day he agreed to a new $350 million, 11-year contract that will keep him with the San Diego Padres through 2033, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.

The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because Machado must pass a physical before the deal is finalized.

Machado got a big cheer from Padres fans on a chilly afternoon in Arizona before a spring training game against the Diamondbacks. The third baseman struck out in his first at-bat before lacing a line-drive double off the base of the left-field wall in San Diego’s nine-run second inning.

Machado finished 2 for 3 at the plate, adding a single in the third.

The 30-year-old had said that after this season, he planned to opt out of the $300 million, 10-year free agent deal he signed in 2019. With the $120 million he already has received, the new deal increases the freespending Padres’ commitment to Machado to $470 million over 15 years.

Machado finished second in the NL MVP race last year. He’ll anchor a superstar-laden lineup that includes Xander Bogaerts, Juan Soto and Fernando Tatis Jr., who can return on April 20 from an 80game suspension for performance-enhancing drugs.

Machado batted .298 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIS last season.

Back in black (and orange)

Michael Conforto saw his first game action in more than a year, and went 1 for 3 as the San Francisco Giants’ designated hitter against the Cincinnati Reds. He singled his final time up.

“Felt good to be back. I definitely had some nerves. After the first at-bat most of them went away,” he said.

Conforto, who turns 30 on Wednesday, hadn’t played since Oct. 3, 2021, when he was with the New York Mets. He missed all of 2022 after having right shoulder surgery but signed a two-year, $36 million contract with the Giants in the offseason.

He said the plan is to DH for a couple weeks, then play some outfield.

“Really what matters is getting to Opening Day healthy,” Conforto said. “But today was good.”

Captain Judge

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge received several ovations from the crowd at Steinbrenner Field before his first game in pinstripes as the new team captain.

“I felt it with the intro, I felt it on defense, I felt it stepping up to the plate,” the reigning AL MVP said.

Judge was a free agent after last season but ended up signing a $360 million, nine-year contract with the Yankees. He also was named the team’s first captain since Hall of Famer Derek Jeter in 2014.

“He loves the game, and obviously being back here, to be able to put the uni on and go out, I think it was something he was looking forward to,” Yankees manager Aaron Boone said.

Trophy do-over

Marlins right-hander Sandy Alcantara received his NL Cy Young Award trophy on Sunday for the second time — and this time he has no reason to give it back.

“I want to keep it for the rest of my life,” Alcantara said. “I think that is for my mom.”

When the Baseball Writers’ Association of America originally presented Alcantara with the trophy at its January awards dinner, the plaque language

a do-it-all defensive back, is another prospect who profiles as a potential Patriot.

Saturday

Positions: QB, WR, TE Day 1-2 targets to watch: USC WR Jordan Addison, Ohio State WR Jaxon Smith-njigba, Boston College WR Zay Flowers, North Carolina WR Josh Downs, Notre Dame TE Michael Mayer, Utah TE Dalton Kincaid, Georgia TE Darnell Washington, Oregon State TE Luke Musgrave

One of the weaker wide receiver classes in recent memory could nudge the Patriots toward finding an answer in free agency. But if they fall in love with any of the top prospects, Addison and Smith-njigba are the cleanest fits in Round 1. A little later, local product Zay Flowers, who wowed at the dubbed both Alcantara and AL winner Justin Verlander the “most valuble” pitchers in their leagues, leaving out the second “a” in “valuable.”

Afterward, the group told him it would provide a new one.

The new plaque contains the more up-to-date “most outstanding” phrasing — and it’s spelled correctly.

Marlins owner Bruce Sherman presented the award to Alcantara at home plate before Miami’s spring training home opener against St. Louis.

“I didn’t expect that I was going to get my award today,” Alcantara said. “I thought I’d go outside and have fun with my teammates. But when I saw the surprise, it made my day today.”

Alcantara went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA in 2022, pitching a league-high 228 2/3 innings.

Follow up

Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Major League Baseball is providing updates — nearly in real time — on the rules changes package that is making this spring training unique.

The two major changes are a pitch clock and a limit on extreme infield shifts.

“They did a really nice job of sending out a memo this morning with all the things that took place yesterday

Shrine Bowl, offers another option.

Options abound at tight end, where Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer is a prototypical “Y” tight end equally capable as a receiver and blocker. Kincaid offers a better pass-catching threat, while the 6-foot7, 270-pound Washington can’t be discounted on sheer size alone. Musgrave, who has limited tape after playing through the pandemic and suffering an injury last year, impressed at the Senior Bowl and could be a Day 2 pick.

Sunday

Positions: OL, RB

Day 1-2 targets to watch: Northwestern OT Peter Skoronski, Georgia OT Broderick Jones, Ohio State OT Paris Johnson Jr., Tennessee OT Darnell Wright,

February 2021.

The younger Gomez is a solid strikeout pitcher; he fanned 41 batters in 33 innings last season, which he spent with Double-a Portland. Across 24 appearances, including two starts and 11 games finished, he posted a 6.55 ERA and 1.667 WHIP.

Big step for Sale

Chris Sale faced live hitters on Saturday for the first time since the unfortunate line-drive comebacker incident at Yankee Stadium last July.

His family was on hand as he threw an inning, and his three sons greeted him with a group hug when he walked off the mound.

Sale will throw a two-inning live BP this week, and if all goes well, the next step would be his first appearance in a spring training game. and questions that players and managers that just had to be addressed in order that you can cover it with your staff and club as you feel appropriate,” Marmol said. “So we did that with our staff and brought two different points with our players because they’ve done a really good job of communication.”

The new rules already had an effect during the first full day of games: Cal Conley of the Atlanta Braves thought he had just won the game with a twoout, bases-loaded walkoff walk on Saturday. But umpire John Libka ruled that Conley, facing reliever Robert Kwiatkowski of the Boston Red Sox, wasn’t set in the box as the clock wound under eight seconds.

He was ruled out. The game ended in a tie.

Braves manager Brian Snitker said Sunday that Conley’s situation was part of learning process.

“It’s baseball. You’re going to see something you’ve never seen before,” Snitker said. “All to the point where I said I’m glad we’re starting these things when we did. I’m glad we didn’t wait until March 15 or something where we can have a whole month of this, and hopefully in a few weeks that this thing is just normal.”

Ohio State OT Dawand Jones, North Dakota State OT Cody Mauch, UCLA RB Zach Charbonnet

No position on the Patriots’ roster has a bleaker outlook in the short and long-term than offensive tackle, which should be addressed in free agency and the draft. Come April, it would be a surprise to see the Pats let three rounds go by without adding to the position. Wright and Jones are both maulers at right tackle, while Mauch would bring athleticism and versatility as a former tight end who played tackle and guard at the Senior Bowl.

The Patriots are reportedly on the hunt for passcatching backs. Charbonnet is a bigger third-down back who played for them at the Shrine Bowl.

Quick hits

Matthew Lugo, the organization’s No. 12 prospect, was Sunday’s hero at the plate, going 2-for-2 with a bases-clearing double and RBI triple to tie the game back up for Ryan Fitzgerald to walk it off.

The Padres are reportedly giving Manny Machado an 11-year, $350 million extension. The Red Sox got 26-year-old Rafael Devers for tens of millions and a year less.

Kenley Jansen is ready to be a mentor for fellow Curaçao native Ceddanne Rafaela. “I’m gonna make sure that anything that he needs, I’m here for him,” the veteran pitcher told the Boston Globe, “…anything that I can do to help him be better, not just on the field, but off the field, I’m here for him. I’m gonna make sure I’ll be his big brother.”

while setting several school records in various relay events.

“Tewksbury’s really special to me,” said Sessa, noting how Lowell has always been in her backyard. “They really paved the way for my running career. I started as a multi-sport athlete with soccer and basketball, but made the switch to run because my coaches were so great there. It all paid off.”

The AE championship was also the icing on the cake as she wraps up her track career with the River Hawks.

“To me, this meet was so special,” said Sessa. “We were chasing after something that was historybreaking. And if there was an opportunity to step out on the track and help my team, I was there.”