Adam Lott / February 19, 2019

Well, it finally happened. After one of the most anticipated and grueling off-seasons in MLB history, Manny Machado found a team. Tuesday morning, the superstar SS/3B signed a 10-year, $300 million dollar contract with the San Diego Padres. We all knew that the contract was gonna be huge, but HOLY COW that’s a lot of money! His contract now stands as the largest free agent contract in American sports history, surpassing the previous record held by Alex Rodriguez’s 10-year, $275 million contract.

With the Machado signing, the Padres look to rebuild a struggling franchise. They finished last in the NL West in 2018 and had the fifth worst record in all of Major League Baseball. The signing will allow the team to build their franchise from the ground up, using Machado as the base of their structure. But what does this signing mean for the other four teams in the NL West?

Nothing. It means nothing for now at least. Several years from now, the story may be different, but for the next couple of seasons, the division will look excruciatingly similar to its previous years. The only thing that this signing will affect the division is the placement of the Padres and the Giants. The HORRID San Francisco Giants will be the worst baseball team in the NL West for MANY years.

The Giants finished 7 games ahead of the Padres last year and I predict that, with the Machado signing, San Diego will pass up the Giants and the Giants alone. The Diamondbacks, Rockies, and the Dodgers will be first, second, and third in the division (No specific order). So nothing will change immediately. However, the Padres have a lot of money AND a newly acquired franchise player under contract for 10 years.

Headlines about 5 years from now may have the Padres listed as a top team in baseball. Or they could still be one of the worst teams in baseball. That’s just how the cookie crumbles. Nobody can know for sure how anything will play out because of the inactivity of free agents. Bryce Harper’s inevitable signing can ruin everything, especially if he does end up signing with the Giants. What we do know is that his contract will probably be bigger than Machado’s. So Manny, enjoy your record while you can because one 26-year-old RF from Nevada is coming for you.

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