The San Diego Padres recently extended star Manny Machado, to an 11-year deal worth $350 million, pending a physical. This is currently the fourth-highest contract value behind Mike Trout, Mookie Betts and Aaron Judge.

His contract includes a $45 million signing bonus, the second-largest behind Betts. His contract is undoubtedly hefty, and the Padres have had no issue spending over the past year.

The answer isn’t so straightforward and depends on many factors, but most notably, whether or not they want a better chance at a championship ASAP.

In his age-30 season, the ultimate question arises: Did the Padres spend too much to keep Machado?

When looking at the 2022 free agent market, they were smart to lock Machado down, before he hit the market in 2023 and had offers on the table.

The 2023 preseason was the best time to sign Manny Machado

While the amount of his contract is questionable, if the Padres truly wanted to keep Machado around, the 2023 preseason was the best time to do so.

The 2022 offseason held a historically high free agency market, and it was extremely competitive as several stars were on the market, including Aaron Judge, Xander Bogaerts, Trea Turner, Dansby Swanson and Carlos Correa.

Judge got signed to the largest deal in MLB history (nine years worth $360 million) during the 2022 offseason, and Bogaerts and Turner both got signed to large 11-year deals. Correa and Swanson each landed six and seven year deals, respectively. Turner will turn 30 years old during the regular season, and Bogaerts has already hit 30.

The market is expected to get even bigger with Shohei Ohtani hitting it after this season. Ohtani will likely lock down a long-term deal, possibly even larger than Judge’s, which could’ve made Machado worth more than the Padres extended him for.

Age, clearly, is becoming a concern of the past, and the Padres are seeming to like such long-term deals. They signed Bogaerts without second thought while the Boston Red Sox failed to do so, and they have a solid core built from long-term deals.

Fernando Tatis Jr. is signed to San Diego until 2035, and Machado and Bogaerts are both signed to San Diego until 2033. Machado and Bogaerts will both be in their 40s by the end of their contracts.

Machado isn’t quite showing signs of slowing down yet, either. He’s been hitting consistent with his career average, which spans over 11 seasons.

Last season, he was a staple in San Diego’s early-season success as they navigated the season without Tatis. They have heavy competition against the Los Angeles Dodgers, and if they want to continue moving up the ranks as contenders, signing Machado was a smart move.

His contract may be outlandishly huge, but all things considered, it could’ve cost them a lot more to keep him if they had waited until he opted out of his contract. The Padres made the right decision in optimizing their success, in my eyes.

-Rylie Smith

@RylieS_14