The 10-year marriage between Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres was made official on Friday in Peoria, Arizona, where the Padres' spring training has already begun.
Machado met with a room of reporters alongside Padres general manager A.J. Preller and gave voice as to why San Diego is set to be his new home through 2028. "I liked the game plan, from ownership to front office to the coaching staff to the players," Machado said, according to ESPN.com's Jesse Rogers. "The whole 'shabam' was so perfect."
What seemed perfect to Machado at first seemed like a "pipe dream" to Preller, who recalled a morning at winter meetings when it dawned on him to go after Machado:
"I called [assistant GM] Josh Stein at about 5 in the morning and said, 'Let's just sign Machado.