The Padres held their first official pitchers and catchers workout at the Peoria Sports Complex BUT THEY ALSO MET IN PERSON WITH MANNY MACHADO!!!!!!!!!!
As first revealed by the San Diego Union-Tribune, Padres general manager A.J. Preller did, in fact, fly to Florida within the last week to speak face-to-face with Machado. This is a good indication that, even if San Diego is not the leader in the free agent derby, they have not yet been ruled out.
The Padres have had in-person meetings with both Machado and Bryce Harper, the two 26-year-old superstar free agents who are expected to earn multi-year contracts worth at least $250 million.
There’s still no indication of how close either player is to choosing a destination but one would think the fact they are still talking to clubs means they haven’t made up their minds yet.
These are uncharted waters for a franchise that just last year handed out the first 9-figure contract in its history (to 1st baseman Eric Hosmer). San Diego has been building its minor league system, leading most baseball analysts to believe they’ll be legitimate post-season contenders by 2021.
If the Friars are able to land either free agent trophy they’re fishing for then that time table would no doubt be accelerated.
Oh, as for the first day of pitchers and catchers, some of the rain that’s been drenching Southern California made its way to Peoria so they called off fielding drills and focused on bullpen sessions. Manager Andy Green said he thought it was the prudent course of action to avoid any injuries on a wet surface.
