Padres News: Manny Machado's Contract Structure Set Friars Up For Sustained Success

They could still spend a lot more money in the immediate future.

The San Diego Padres made a stunning move when they signed superstar third baseman Manny Machado to an 11-year, $350 million extension to remain in San Diego for the remainder of his career. While the move already puts the Padres in contention to win a World Series, at Machado's press conference finalizing the extension, he spoke about getting his superstar teammate Juan Soto locked up, too.

With Machado's extension, and Yu Darvish's extension earlier in the offseason, it's a little difficult to think about them continuing to make moves. However, Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported how the structure of Machado's extension actually does allow the Padres to continue making moves in the immediate future.

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 structure allows the Padres to spend right now, and continue to bolster their team to World Series winner level.

Soto is definitely the first priority, but it's unclear whether he's going to sign this season, especially considering he won't be a free agent until the end of 2024.

Another priority is locking up closer Josh Hader, who's a free agent at the end of this season — so maybe that makes him a little more of a priority since he could walk in around eight months.

The Padres are also reportedly still interested in going after Shohei Ohtani this offseason, who's going to command a record contract.

Usually, a team locking up all of their guys means there's no way they're going to be able to spend on outside free agents. Moreover, a team usually isn't able to lock up every single one of their young stars. However, the Padres are spending in a way we've never seen before, so we can't put anything past them. And the Machado structure only confirms they plan on making more moves right now.