"Padres were on crack" - MLB analysts slam Alex Bregman, Scott Boras reportedly chasing Manny Machado’s $350,000,000 deal with San Diego
Alex Bregman is a hot commodity at third base, and teams will have the opportunity to sign him this offseason, given he's a free agent. After nine years with the Houston Astros, which involved two World Series wins, the 30-year-old hot corner specialist is reportedly chasing a similar contract Manny Machado had signed with the Padres in 2023.
Machado, a third baseman himself, got the 11-year, $350 million extension in February 2023. That may have to do something with the passion and enthusiasm of late Padres owner Peter Seidler, according to The Athletic's Ken Rosenthal.
“The Athletic’s Tim Britton projects a seven-year, $189 million contract for free-agent third baseman Alex Bregman. I suspect that Bregman and his agent, Scott Boras, are aiming higher — specifically, at a deal closer to the 11-year, $350 million extension Manny Machado signed with the San Diego Padres in February 2023,” Rosenthal reported.
Reacting to Rosenthal's update, MLB analyst Jared Carrabis took a dig at Alex Bregman and his agent Scott Boras for unrealistic contract wishes. Carrabis highlighted the circumstances were different when the Padres signed Machado to a nine-year extension.
"Um, let's not use the Padres when they were on crack phase as a benchmark for any contract moving forward. Like, any of those contracts from that time period—yeah, no. That was their 'on crack' time period," Carrabis said (27:00 onwards).
Ken Rosenthal feels Alex Bregman has a case chasing Manny Machado-esque contract
MLB Insider Ken Rosenthal made his stance clear on what he feels about Alex Bregman's contract expectations, which are north of $300 million.
“Preposterous? Maybe, considering that another of Boras’ third base clients, Matt Chapman, recently signed a six-year, $151 million deal. The Machado extension, which prevented him from opting out at the end of ’23, resulted in part from the passion and generosity of the late Padres owner, Peter Seidler," Rosenthal said.
"Other teams, including Bregman’s previous club, the Houston Astros, likely view it as an outlier. But the statistical comparison between Machado and Bregman is closer than one might think.”
The only problem with Alex Bregman chasing big money is that there's ultimately no one who can land such big bucks. Among big-market teams, the Dodgers don't need a third baseman, given they have Max Muncy; the Mets have Mark Vientos, while the Yankees have Juan Soto's contract to worry about more.
It could come around to hurt Bregman as well. Last year, Matt Chapman was in a similar position, and so were other Boras clients like Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery. All of them had to settle for short-term contracts. So Bregman might be swayed into thinking otherwise rather than wait around to get the dream money.