PEORIA, Ariz. -- In the Padres' quest to find a free-agent third baseman this offseason, it's Manny Machado or bust.
Over the past few days, a handful of lesser options have come off the board -- most notably Mike Moustakas, who agreed to a one-year contract with Milwaukee on Sunday. Yangervis Solarte, Adeiny Hechavarria and Alcides Escobar all agreed to deals, as well.
Team sources said the interest was never all that serious in any of those non-Machado options -- all of whom fall into a far lower class of third baseman than Machado.