The San Diego Padres have done everything they can to keep up with the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West Division.
There's a chance that could come back to bite them down the road.
One contract in particular has the potential to age very poorly: Manny Machado.
Bleacher Report's Kerry Miller ranked the contracts in MLB that could be the biggest nightmare by 2028. He has Machado as No. 2 on his list.
For each of the six seasons 2028, 2029, 2030, 2031, 2032 and 2033, Machado will be owed $40 million.
That's right, a total of $240 million that begins when Machado is 35 years old. And the other bad news? Miller's worst contract on the list is Xander Bogaerts, but he's owed "only" $150 million from 2028-2033.
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Machado's defense has already started to decline. His bat could eventually follow.
"Hiding that glove by transitioning Machado to a full-time DH role could be an option as early as this coming season," Miller writes. "Not only do the Padres not have a full-time DH in place, but they signed Sung Mun Song from KBO and he can play third base. Even if they do that, though, $40M per year is going to get painful long before Machado turns 41 midway through the final season of this deal. He is a great hitter, but he's no Aaron Judge. And he's only going to get less Judge-like the older he gets."
Machado has mostly been worth the money the Padres have paid him in the first portion of this deal. He's currently one of their best players.
But there are still a couple of seasons before this 2028 benchmark Miller has chosen. And the odds of Machado remaining a key contributor through the majority of the rest of that contract are hard to imagine.
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