The Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees looked to be the favorites to land Manny Machado for much of the offseason, so when the All-Star third baseman chose the San Diego Padres on Tuesday, the baseball world was shocked.
Machado, who turns 27 in July, is poised to make $300 million over the next 10 years in San Diego. And as sports fans were thoroughly freaking out about the major free-agent splash, Padres chairman Ron Fowler seemingly denied that any deal had even happened.
Fowler met with reporters at the Padres’ spring training facility in Peoria, Ariz., and he played off the Machado-mania as an ongoing discussion — not a done deal.
But don’t worry, Padres fans. This deal is happening.
Fowler said:
“We do not have a deal with any free-agent player. We are continuing discussions, and that’s all we have to say.”
On its face, that statement would be alarming. It shouldn’t be.
As Padres beat writer Kevin Acee explained, Fowler had to say that because technically there were a few more steps that needed to take place before the team could officially announce Machado. Notably, Machado still needs to pass his physical and sign the contract.
The door isn’t open for the White Sox to swoop in and sign Machado. The Padres deal is a formality at this point, and the baseball media recognized that.
The Padres waited several days to announce the signing after agreeing to terms with Eric Hosmer last year. This appears to be a similar situation.
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