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Will the Padres be able to re-sign Manny Machado? | Locked On Padres

The third baseman signed a 10-year/$300M deal before the 2019 season. Now, he says he plans to opt-out of his contract after 2023.

SAN DIEGO — San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado confirmed on Friday that he would opt out after the 2023 season and pursue free agency.

Machado, who finished second in the National League Most Valuable Player Award voting in 2022, signed a 10-year, $300M deal with the Padres before the 2019 season. That deal allowed him to end the contract after the 2023 season ends and become a free agent.

Machado, who turns 31 in July told reporters on Friday, "Obviously, the team knows where I stand, my situation with the opt-out coming. I think I've expressed that I will be opting out after this year, but I think my focus is not about 2024. I think my focus is about 2023, what I can do to this ball club, what I've done for this organization, and what we're going to continue to do here. I think we've got something special here growing and I don't think anything's going to change.''

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The Padres are one of the teams in the Majors who have not shied away from big contracts of late. They recently signed free agent Xander Bogaerts to an 11-year $280M deal and also signed Yu Darvish to a six-year/$108M extension.

Machado said about Darvish’s extension, “That was huge. What he did last year, he carried us throughout the whole way. He was one of the big reasons we were in the playoffs last year. That’s awesome for him.”

But the Padres aren’t the only ones who are making this decision to opt-out an easy one for Machado. Trea Turner signed an 11-year/$300M deal with the Phillies and Aaron Judge returned to the Yankees on a nine-year/$360M deal. Machado said, “There’s a lot of money out there. As a player, that’s good to see.”

The Padres reportedly offered Machado another five years and $100M that would have been added to the end of his current contract which means the team would have owed him $255M over 10 more years if he agreed to the deal. Instead, he’s going to test the free agency waters again and see what else is out there.

Just because Machado is opting out doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to leave. It’s entirely possible that the Padres will entice him with a deal good enough for him to come back after the 2023 season.

So far, Machado has lived up to his contract with San Diego. In the four seasons since he signed his original deal, Machado has batted .280/.352/.504 with 108 home runs. He’s also a defensive whiz at third base which makes him even more attractive to other teams who could be looking for a third baseman. 

Perhaps the New York Yankees who will have Josh Donaldson’s $21.75M coming off the books after the 2023 season will finally go after Machado in a serious way, or maybe even the New York Mets who are scooping up players left and right because their owner Steve Cohen has the money to do it.

Overall, Machado has made the All-Star team six times—four times with the Orioles and twice with the Padres, he’s won multiple Gold Gloves and has finished in the Top 10 of MVP voting five times, finishing second last season to Paul Goldschmidt, and he’s a lifetime .282/.341/.492 hitter and is only 17 dingers away from his 300.

Machado’s Padres manager Bob Melvin said, “We’ve shown a willingness to keep the important guys here, and I’m sure there is a good chance with Manny, too,” He added. “I don’t want to know what it is going to look like without him.”

Guess we’ll all find out after the 2023 season ends and free agency begins.

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