The Padres Move Closer To Superteam Status By Extending Potential Hall Of Famer Manny Machado

First the Padres ended the Mets’ first legitimate pursuit of a championship in the Steve Cohen era. Then the Padres might have beat Cohen to building a National League superteam.

With Shohei Ohtani due to hit free agency this winter and Juan Soto hitting the market following the 2024 season, the Mets still have a path to constructing the true best team money could buy. But the longterm third baseman for the Mets won’t be Manny Machado, who was eligible to opt out of his contract after the 2023 World Series before he agreed to terms with the Padres Sunday on an 11-year extension worth a reported $350 million.

Of course, if the supposedly small-market Padres have shown anything over the last several years under admirably aggressive owner Peter Seidler, it’s that they might be the biggest threat to Cohen’s ability to construct a budget-be-damned roster.

The Padres already HAVE Soto, whom they acquired from the Nationals last summer for a bushel of prospects (none of whom are likely to be anywhere near as good as Soto, despite what the Nationals might have hopefully Tweeted last week). They’ve been linked to Ohtani, along with the usual suspects such as the Dodgers, Mets and Yankees.

The Machado extension continued a wild spending spree by the Padres, who seem to be in on every name, big and small. They signed Xander Bogaerts to a 11-year deal worth $280 million, which will send Fernando Tatis Jr. — the shortstop the Padres signed to a 14-year deal worth $340 million in 2021 — to the outfield once he returns from his PED suspension. The Padres also signed Yu Darvish to a six-year extension that will pay him $108 million through the 2028 season, when he will be 42 years old.

The club pursued Aaron Judge before the reigning AL MVP returned to the Yankees. And the smaller moves made this winter by the Padres include the signing of designated hitter Nelson Cruz — who hit 10 homers while finally beginning to look mortal during his age-42 season last year — to a one-year deal and the inking Cole Hamels to a minor league contract even though Hamels is 39, has made one big league appearance since 2020 and ranks behind at least seven pitchers on the Padres’ depth chart.