The San Diego Padres have been throwing a lot of money around this offseason. They offered more than $1 billion combined to three different free agents, securing Xander Bogaerts with an 11-year, $280 million deal.
Now, they've given third baseman Manny Machado one of the largest contract extensions in MLB history. He'll make $350 million over 11 seasons. Combined with the previous five years, the Padres will pay Machado $500 million — half a billion dollars — if he finishes this deal in San Diego. The extension is the fourth-largest guarantee in MLB history.
Machado will opt out of the remainder of his current deal, which still had five years and $150 million remaining on it. Instead, he'll ink a contract that will pay him about $2 million more in average annual salary and will keep him under contract until he's 42 years old.
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Aside from Bogaerts, the Padres also have Fernando Tatis Jr. signed for the long haul with a 14-year, $340 million deal. The trio of Machado, Tatis, and Bogaerts will make close to a collective $1 billion by the time their deals are done. Pitchers Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are also signed to nine-figure contracts. All that spending means this upcoming season, the Padres will have a competitive balance tax payroll of $266 million, the third-highest in the league.
Over the next two years, the Padres will also have to decide what to do with Juan Soto. You may recall Soto turned down a $440 million offer from the Washington Nationals before the team traded him to San Diego. The Padres will probably have to pay him more than that to keep him.
Machado had perhaps his best season as a pro last year. He finished second in National League MVP voting, posting .298/.366/.531 hitting splits with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs. The Padres reached the National League Championship Series before falling to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Their star-studded roster is coming back at full strength. Now, the Padres will look to do something they've never done in the history of their 54-year franchise: win a title. If they pull that off, well…maybe money can buy championships, after all.
