One Down

So Manny Machado signed a 10year, $300MM deal with those crazy San Diego Padres to close out one half of the 2019 Biggest Free Agent Quest. Good for Manny. And the Padres aren't half bad, playing in a division where they can compete. Offense is solid, pitching will be suspect. Oh, and Manny will play 3B!

So now the countdown is on for Bryce Harper. I'm reasonably sure that neither Harper/Boras or Machado/Lozano for that matter figured getting interest from a small number of teams was going to occur. Word is Harper isn't sure he wants to sign in Philly. I don't blame him. Those fans boo anybody and everybody. The only saving grace is if Mike Trout becomes a FA, Philly is gonna do everything hey can to sign him. But then Bryce becomes the number 2 and I'm not sure he wants that.

The other top contender (unless Boras has another mystery team up his sleeve) is the SF Giants. That's intriguing. They're gonna be terrible this season (and probably for a few). There current OF roster looks like a Who's Who of WHO?! They have an aging team. They might've kept there big stars too long. But SF (at least for me) is a premier spot in NL. So as long as you're ready for the long haul and possibly 3-4 losing seasons, things could be worse.

Last, rumor is the Padres are trying to figure out if they can sign Harper. They have a $110MM payroll this season and a stacked farm system. So this becomes a thing. You'd certainly juice season ticket sales.