Contrary to one local reporter in San Diego, MLB Network’s Jon Heyman reported Tuesday that the Padres “aren’t ruling out Bryce Harper” after landing Manny Machado.
Padres are pulling off one surprise (once Manny’s finalized) but here’s another shocker : they aren’t ruling out Bryce Harper, too. 110M payroll (with MM) is still lower than most.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 19, 2019
The Machado deal (still not official as of this moment, and the team denied it was done on Tuesday) would instantly bring relevance to a Padres team that’s languished in mediocrity for the better part of a decade.
If San Diego were able to somehow bring both Harper and Machado into the fold — along with Eric Hosmer — it would immediately make them one of the most feared offensive lineups in MLB.
Really, what it comes down to is whether owner Ron Fowler wants to push all his chips into the middle to make a gigantic leap up in the MLB world. Not only would the Padres become one of the top teams in the National League in terms of talent, but the franchise would become one of the most marketable teams in the league — something that’s reportedly a priority.