Manny Machado cashes in, big courtesy of the San Diego Padres

There was no special television broadcast special announcing his next team, a la Lebron James circa 2010. No extravagant press conference in front of a multitude of reporters and flashing cameras, at least not yet. No, it came in the form of a simple tweet.

BREAKING: Free agent star Manny Machado has agreed to a deal with the San Diego Padres, league sources tell ESPN.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 19, 2019

One of the most coveted free agents finally found a home, with Manny Machado agreeing to a 10-year, $300 million deal ($30 million annually) with the San Diego Padres.

The deal was reached after 3 1/2 months of negotiating and contract discussions with multiple MLB teams, most notably the Philadelphia Phillies, Los Angeles Dodgers, the New York Yankees and the Chicago White Sox, who reportedly offered him an 8-year deal worth roughly $250 million.

Source: #WhiteSox offer to Machado was 8/$250M (a higher AAV than he will receive from #Padres. Total value of deal – with incentives and vesting options – could have been “well north” of $300M.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 19, 2019

It is the biggest free-agent contract in American sports history, and the second-largest contract in terms of value behind the $325 million deal across 13 years signed by outfielder Giancarlo Stanton with the Miami Marlins in 2014 (Stanton is now with the New York Yankees).

His contract may not hold up as the richest for long, however, as former Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper remains a free agent. He has reportedly refused contract offers in excess of $300 million already.

The deal comes one year after the Padres gave first-baseman Eric Hosmer an eight-year, $144 million deal. As a result, the Padres will be spending $51 million total on both Hosmer and Machado, which constitutes 46 per cent of their $110 million total payroll.

The 26-year-old infielder, in what many consider to be the prime years of his career, will be called upon to help turn around a franchise that has had only one winning season in the last 11 years (2010). The team has lost over 90 games the last three seasons, including 96 last year.

Machado split last season between the lowly Baltimore Orioles and the Los Angeles Dodgers, combining for a .297 batting average, 37 home runs and 107 runs batted in. He was named to the All-Star team for the fourth time in his career and reached the World Series with the Dodgers, ultimately losing in five games to the Boston Red Sox. Overall, in seven big-league seasons, Machado has hit 175 home runs, collected 513 RBIs and maintained a .282 batting average.

Machado is also known for his defence, collecting two Gold Gloves while playing third-base with the Orioles. Machado can also play shortstop, if needed.

He will have some catching up to do, as Padres players have already reported to the team’s spring training facility in Peoria, Arizona ahead of the upcoming 2019 season.

While it may be unrealistic to expect Machado to get the struggling Padres over the hump immediately, there are bright spots within the organization down the road. Nine of the club’s prospects are in Baseball America’s top 100 list ahead of the 2019 season.

In addition to the aforementioned Hosmer, the Padres also can count on young outfielders Will Myers and Hunter Renfroe, who led the team with 26 home runs last season.

Nevertheless, the Padres will hope to win in the not too distant future and that Machado will be a major part of it. After all, they have 300 million reasons why.