Fowler had originally indicated the Padres would not be making a significant free-agent investmentgetty images
Padres Exec Chair Ron Fowler last month was "comfortable with an internal projection" that the team's financial losses this season would amount to about $8-9M, but the club is now likely headed toward a '19 financial deficit of "at least twice that amount" after signing 3B Manny Machado to a 10-year, $300M contract, according to Kevin Acee of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Within days of Fowler "indicating it was highly unlikely the Padres would be making a significant investment," reports surfaced that Machado "might be available for less than the industry had anticipated." Padres Exec VP & GM A.J. Preller called Fowler to ask if they could "at least check in with Machado’s agent," Dan Lozano. Preller "kept selling his bosses" on the idea of Machado and the Padres "kept pressing" Lozano. As of Tuesday morning, the White Sox "thought their offer" of eight years and $250M guaranteed was "going to land Machado." However, the Padres had "upped their offer one last time early Tuesday morning." The Padres also had "reworked (and reworked and reworked) their projections regarding roster construction, payroll and potential revenue to the point where they signed Machado for the simple fact that they could" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 2/21).
HIT ME LIKE A HURRICANE: USA TODAY's Bob Nightengale writes Machado heading to San Diego has "jarred this sleepy city like a tsunami." Padres 1B Eric Hosmer said, “In the last 24 hours, there’s such a vibe and buzz, everyone is so excited. ... I know San Diego is so pumped" (USA TODAY, 2/21). FS1's Jim Jackson said the length and amount of money in the Machado deal are "the cost of doing business in regards of getting fans in the stands, marketing, TV, doing all those things." FS1's Marcellus Wiley noted the Padres have needed someone like Machado because they are "not going to win in terms of on-field performance to bring that attention." Wiley: "They try to win with star power" ("Speak For Yourself," FS1, 2/20).
THIS ONE HURTS: THE RINGER's Claire McNear wrote the White Sox under Chair Jerry Reinsdorf have "long had a reputation for cheapness." Missing out on Machado "isn’t an aw-shucks moment" for the White Sox, or a "case of getting one-upped by an offer that was impossible either to predict or to match, seeing as they were capable of both." The White Sox’ failure Tuesday "speaks volumes." A tanking strategy is "worth it only if there’s something on the other side, and in declining -- through cheapness or incompetence or both -- to compete for Machado, Reinsdorf and the White Sox have revealed that, as has so often been the case for this team, there might not be anything there at all" (THERINGER.com, 2/20).
