Getty Manny Machado signs with San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres have lured one of the top names in all of baseball to town with a lucrative deal which could help them push to turn the tides of their organization. The Padres now enter the 2019 season as the winners of the Manny Machado sweepstakes which went on for months after he wrapped up 2018 as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
ESPN’s Jeff Passan first reported the deal, while the terms of Machado’s new contract with the Padres were made public by MLB.com’s Mark Feinsand. The numbers come in a $300 million over 10 years, making this the largest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.
BREAKING: Manny Machado has agreed to terms on a deal with the Padres. According to a league source, it’s for 10 years and $300 million – the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.
San Diego is now set up with an intriguing amount of talent entering the new year, and Machado bolsters their lineup. We’re going to break down the projected 2019 lineup for the Padres as well as their likely starting rotation.
Padres Projected Lineup & Roster After Manny Machado Trade
*Notates expected starters – projections courtesy of RotoChamp.com and CBS Sports.
C: Austin Hedges*, Franciso Mejia
1B: Eric Hosmer*
2B: Ian Kinsler*
3B: Manny Machado*, Greg Garcia, Ty France
SS: Luis Urias*, Fernando Tatis Jr. (?), Javy Guerra
LF: Will Myers*, Hunter Renfroe, Jose Pirela
CF: Manuel Margot*, Francy Cordero, Travis Jankowski
RF: Franmil Reyes*
Padres Projected Pitching Rotation
*Per San Diego Padres official MLB page
- 1. Joey Lucchesi
- 2. Eric Lauer
- 3. Robbie Erlin
- 4. Jacob Nix
- 5. Bryan Mitchell
- Brett Kennedy
- Luis Perdomo
- Matt Strahm
- Clayton Richard
Padres Outlook With Manny Machado
There’s no question it’s been a brutal stretch for the Padres over recent years. The team hasn’t posted a record above the .500 mark since 2010 when they went 90-72. They’re coming off a season in which they posted a 66-96 record and have finished fourth or fifth in the National League West over the past four seasons.
The addition of Machado will provide a punch from a hitting standpoint, as he homered 37 times last season while San Diego as a team hit just 162 homers. The move bolsters the Padres’ lineup and overall outlook while adding Machado to a group that features a decent amount of intriguing young talent.
San Diego will now look to make a push to return to the postseason for the first time since 2006, the second of two consecutive years they made it and won the division. The Padres lost in the NLDS both years and their previous trip to the postseason prior to that came in 1998 when they lost in the World Series.
Even with the addition of Machado, the Padres have a lot of work to do against a strong NL West. This group features the Dodgers, Colorado Rockies, Arizona Diamondbacks, and San Francisco Giants.
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