Manny Machado will reportedly be in San Diego for a long, long time. According to Jeff Passan, Machado and the Padres agreed to a massive 11-year, $350 million contract extension.
White Sox fans hoped Machado was coming to Chicago in 2019, when he was a highly sought-after free agent. At several points, the White Sox were even considered the odds-on favorites to land the superstar infielder, like when Machado revealed he’d be using new black and white gloves throughout the season. Of course the White Sox never did sign Machado, and he ended up signing a 10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres.
Things worked out pretty well for the White Sox at shortstop, even though they didn’t land Machado. The 2019 season is when Tim Anderson emerged as one of the best hitters in baseball, and he eventually won the A.L. batting title with a .335 average. Anderson proved over the following years that 2019 wasn’t a flash in the pan season, either. He’s finished with a batting average over .300 every year since then.
Machado has been a phenomenal player for the Padres. Over the past four seasons, he’s slashed .280/.352/.504 with 108 homers, 340 RBI and 32 stolen bases. He finished third in MVP voting in 2020 and second in 2022.
With Fernando Tatis, Juan Soto and Xander Bogaerts on board, as well, the Padres are among the World Series favorites entering the 2023 season.