Manny Machado News: MLB Insider Predicts Padres Extend Star 3B

MLB insider Ken Rosenthal thinks the Padres and star third baseman Manny Machado will agree on a long-term extension this spring to prevent him from opting out.

Manny Machado signed with the Padres after the 2018 season, a 10-year deal worth $300 million. That deal, though, contained an opt-out clause in which Manny could, after the fifth year of the deal, void the rest of the contract and hit the free-agent market again.

The upcoming season will be year five of the deal, which means Machado could opt out after 2023 and become a free agent. Over at The Athletic, MLB insider Ken Rosenthal writes that he doesn't think it will come to that.

I’m not a betting man, and my predictions generally range from laughable to abysmal. But if I had to guess one thing that would happen this spring, I would say a monster extension between the Padres and star third baseman Manny Machado. ...

To keep Machado, the Padres will need to beat the remaining six years and $180 million on his contract — beat it in length, and beat it in average annual value. Another 10-year deal, this time for more than $300 million, would not appear out of the question. Machado just watched the Padres offer Trea Turner $342 million and ponder an even larger deal for Aaron Judge before signing Xander Bogaerts for an unexpected $280 million.

A 10-year contract would take Machado through his age-40 season. But the Padres just signed Bogaerts through age 40, didn’t they? The Phillies did the same with Turner, and the Yankees secured Judge through age 39.

Rosenthal lists five reasons the Padres and Machado should be motivated to work out an extension this spring, with each one just being a person: Mets owner Steve Cohen, who loves to spend money; Padres outfielder Juan Soto, who will be a free agent after the 2024 season; San Diego owner Peter Seidler, who is committed to making the Padres perennial contenders; Machado's agent Dan Lozano, who "surely is tempted to take him to the open market"; and Machado himself, who appears to love playing in San Diego.

The problem is, only one or two of these reasons actually point towards why Machado would want to do a deal; they're mostly focused on why the Padres should do it. But that last one, Machado being happy and comfortable in San Diego, is a big one, and it likely will come down to Rosenthal's last paragraph:

I’m guessing he stays, as long as the Padres pay. And when in the last few years have they not?