THIS DAY IN BEISBOL February 19: Manny Machado signs 10-year, $300M deal with Padres

After a season split between the Orioles and Dodgers, Manny Machado shattered the free agent market on this day in beísbol, February 19, 2019 by signing a $10-year, $300 million deal with the Padres.

The Dominican native was only 26 years old but already a seven-year veteran when he joined San Diego, which gladly inked the third baseman to the largest contract in MLB history since Alex Rodriguez’s $275 million deal with the Yankees a decade earlier.

Machado immediately became the best hitter in the lineup for a team that hadn’t been to the postseason in 12 years and had one winning record in that span.

Surrounded by better players, Machado, who has since amassed more than 2,000 hits and 400 home runs, remained a middle of the order force as the Padres became perennial contenders since 2020.

Ryan Casey Aguinaldo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons; LatinoBaseball.com illustration