One of MLB's free agents that everybody has been watching closely has signed a record-breaking contract, and the next one is expected to be even bigger.
Manny Machado has signed with the San Diego Padres, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN.
Mark Feinsand of MLB.com reports that the contract is 10 years and worth $300 million, one of the largest deals in sports history, and a record for a free agent in North American sports.
One Padres executive denied that a deal was done, however, Ken Rosenthal, said "this likely is semantics."
If the deal is a record, it may be short-lived.
Baseball's other major free agent still on the market, Bryce Harper, may also be closing in on a contract, and according to Buster Olney of ESPN, there is a growing belief that it would break Giancarlo Stanton's record for the largest in MLB history.
"It does seem like, in talking with sources, that Harper's negotiations have accelerated," Olney said during an appearance on "Get Up." "In the last 48 hours, in talking with agents who are not involved in this process, but are watching it like Wall Street brokers, and their assessment is that, yes, in the end, Bryce Harper will set a Major League Baseball record for the biggest deal ever."
Stanton signed a 13-year, $325 million contract with the Miami Marlins following the 2014 season. Stanton was not a free agent at the time.
Olney also adds that the Phillies are still the favorite to sign Harper.
Machado's deal includes an opt-out after five years, according to Tim Brown of Yahoo. Olney speculated that Agent Scott Boras might have to be even more creative to get Harper over the $325 million mark.
"Whether it is some smoke-and-mirrors, deferred money, however, you know Scott Boras will work to get it over that $325 (million) and to set a new record," Olney said.
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