Machado reportedly agrees with Padres for $300M, 10 years

SAN DIEGO — With their city’s long-suffering fans desperate for a winner, the rebuilding San Diego Padres delivered their splashiest free-agent signing ever by agreeing with All-Star infielder Manny Machado on a $300 million, 10-year deal.

A person familiar with the negotiations confirmed the deal to the Associated Press on Tuesday, speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement was subject to a successful physical and had not been announced. Machado can opt out after five years and become a free agent again, the person said.

Machado’s agreement would be the second-largest in baseball history behind Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 million, 13-year deal signed with the Miami Marlins ahead of the 2015 season. It would be the highest deal for a free agent, topping Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million, 10-year contract with the New York Yankees from 2008-17.

More records may be broken soon. Free agent outfielder Bryce Harper could top Stanton’s deal in coming days or weeks.

That won’t matter a bit to Padres fans, who have never celebrated a World Series title and were keeping their fingers crossed in recent days as it became apparent that their team, with a mostly sad-sack history stretching back a half-century, actually had a chance at landing Machado, who is only 26.

Some fans seemed braced for yet another disappointment. But news of the deal was greeted with euphoria on social media.

Speaking at spring training in Peoria, Ariz., Padres executive chairman Ron Fowler declined to confirm the deal, saying: “We do not have a deal with any freeagent player. We are continuing discussions, and that’s all we have to say.”

Teams draw a distinction between an agreement subject to a physical and a finalized deal.