PEORIA, Ariz. — Manny Machado wanted to remain in San Diego, and he wanted to remain on a winner.
So while he certainly will get his money, he is getting it on the Padres' time.
The All-Star third baseman, whose 11-year, $350 million contract became official Tuesday, has enabled the Padres to go shopping for more star power by putting off payment of big bucks until later.
"We've brought in the people to come help us bring a championship," Machado said Monday. "We're gonna continue to do it. And all of us in here, we want to continue to do that. So, that being said, yeah, I'm gonna do whatever it is for this team, do whatever it is that they can go out there and continue to put this great team out there and keep building. I think that's the best thing about this is we're going to continue to do this for a long time, and we're not going to stop."
The Padres will pay Machado a relatively paltry $49 million over the next three years, which includes a $13 million base salary each year and a $10 million payment on his $45 million signing bonus. He will make $21 million in 2026 and then $35 million a year for the remaining seven years of the deal. Machado will also receive the remainder of the signing bonus over those seven seasons.
This will free up a substantial amount for the Padres to pursue a contract with outfielder Juan Soto and/or try to sign two-way star Shohei Ohtani, who is due to hit free agency after this season.
"Hopefully Soto next," Machado said with a smile during Tuesday morning's news conference announcing the deal.
Despite an asking price that is likely to be around a half-billion dollars, it is expected that the Padres will be players for Ohtani, who they felt they had a good chance of getting when he came to MLB from Japan in 2018. Soto is under contract for the next two seasons, and could also command a contract that rivals Ohtani in free agency.
Machado, whose contract includes a no-trade clause and does not give him the ability to opt out, stands to make slightly more than $453 million from the Padres over 15 seasons. (His salary in the COVID-shortened 2020 season was prorated from $30 million to $13.11 million.)
He signed a 10-year, $300 million contract in February 2019. He and agent Dan Lozano negotiated the ability for him to opt out after the 2023 season.
At the time of the signing, Machado's contract was the biggest free-agent deal in North American sports history. But the market for star players has mushroomed and morphed in the interim, and this offseason saw three players get lengthy deals that will pay them well into their 30s and beyond.
Aaron Judge, 30, signed a nine-year, $360 million contract to remain with the Yankees. Trea Turner, 29, got $300 million over 11 years from the Phillies. And the Padres guaranteed 30-year-old Xander Bogaerts $280 million over 11 years.
Bogaerts and Machado will be 41 when their contracts expire.
"The bottom line is we're here to win a championship, and we came reasonably close last year," Padres Chairman Peter Seidler said. "We believe we have every chance this year. And the organization's objective and I know Manny's objective is every single year at this time people are saying hey, the Padres got a shot. … we have full intentions of being in that group and high in that group every year."
