Mike Nelson/EPA, via Shutterstock
TAMPA, Fla. — If the San Diego Padres had stayed away from elite free agents this winter, people would have understood. They gave out the richest contract on last year’s free-agent market, yet finished with their worst record in a decade.
But the Padres could not resist the allure of Manny Machado, and on Tuesday they established a new standard for free agency to get him. They agreed with Machado on a 10-year contract worth $300 million, the most ever guaranteed to a free agent.
The Padres did not announce the agreement, because Machado must first pass a physical, but the deal — which includes an opt-out clause after 2023 — was confirmed by a person in baseball with direct knowledge of it.