Manny Machado has reportedly agreed a $300m deal with the San Diego Padres.
CNN  — 

Manny Machado, who spent the 2018 Major League Baseball (MLB) season with the Los Angeles Dodgers, has agreed a record-breaking $300 million deal with the San Diego Padres, according to reports.

If confirmed, the franchise’s 10-year agreement with the 26-year-old would be the most expensive contract ever signed by a free agent in American sports history, with Machado having gone unsigned since the end of last season. It would surpass the decade-long $275 million contract that Alex Rodriguez signed in December 2007.

The deal, which is said to be dependent on the outcome of a medical, would also place as the third highest in sporting history for any individual sports contract, behind fellow baseball player Giancarlo Stanton’s $325 million deal with the Miami Marlins in 2014 and boxer Canelo Alvarez’s $365 million arrangement with sports broadcaster DAZN.

Machado was part of the Los Angeles Dodgers team beaten by the Boston Red Sox in the 2018 World Series.

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Machado, who played a key role in the Dodgers’ run to the 2018 World Series after joining the team in July, had previously represented the Baltimore Orioles for six years.

As a four-time All-Star and twice winner of the league’s Golden Glove award, Machado has pedigree. Machado has hit 175 career home runs. Of those, 37 came last season, when he played for the Orioles and the Dodgers.

The Padres’ financial commitment to Machado, however, is a major show of faith from a franchise whose previous record contract – the signing of Eric Hosmer on an eight-year deal worth $144 million – only came in February 2018.

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The San Diego Padres signed up free agent Eric Hosmer in February 2018 on an eight-year deal worth $144 million.

Added to this is the franchise’s recent record; only five sides across both the American League and National League lost more matches than the Petco Park team in 2018. Indeed, the Padres have only reached the playoffs twice in the past 20 seasons.

Though regarded as one of baseball’s best players, Machado’s career has not been without controversy. During his time with the Orioles, he served a four-game suspension for his part in a physical altercation with former Kansas City Royals pitcher Yordano Ventura.

In October 2018, Machado was also embroiled in a row during the fourth game of the National League Championship Series between the Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers after he collided with Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar.