Is Manny Machado worth $350 million? Analyzing Padres' decision to build franchise around star shortstop

Manny Machado signed a massive extension to remain with the San Diego Padres. After reports surfaced that he intended to opt-out at the end of the 2023 season, the Padres moved quickly and extended the MVP finalist.

He is critical to their future plans. When they initially signed him, the idea was that he was the first significant piece in the rebuild. Over time, they would add talent around him.

That's precisely what they did, and he decided to play on that value he created and get a better contract. Knowing their situation if he left, the Padres were happy to oblige.

Now he, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Xander Bogaerts will all be in San Diego for at least a decade. It's a worthy core, especially if they can extend Juan Soto as part of it.

Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis

The question is still whether or not Machado is worth $350 million or not.

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Why Manny Machado is worth $350 million

From a player value standpoint, it's hard to argue against Manny Machado's contract. Generally speaking, a contract is based on what a player has done, not what they will do.

It's impossible to predict if a player like Aaron Judge will be worth $40 million this season, but he was worth it in the previous seasons. Maybe Machado won't be worth all this money, but he was.

By the time he begins to deteriorate and not play up to his standard, the $31.2 million he makes per season will be dwarfed by other superstars.

Aaron Judge broke $40 million. Shohei Ohtani might break $50 million; by then, $31.2 million for a superstar will be a steal.

He's critical to the Padres, too, so to them, he's more than worth it.