FINALLY.

Thank the Lord Jesus in Heaven that something happened:

Manny Machado has agreed to a deal with the @Padres, @JeffPassan reports. pic.twitter.com/oggb6g1X2Q

— MLB (@MLB) February 19, 2019

The contract is 10 years at 300 million, according to Mark Feinsand:

BREAKING: Manny Machado has agreed to terms on a deal with the Padres. According to a league source, it’s for 10 years and $300 million – the biggest free-agent contract in the history of American sports.

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) February 19, 2019

Good GOD that is a lot of money. Jeff Passan says there is an opt out after the 5th season.

Thoughts:

1. Angelo Cataldi will be happy Machado isn’t a Phillie because he “doesn’t hustle”
2. Machado signing will speed up the Bryce Harper sweepstakes, since Scott Boras no longer has to sit around and play the world’s dumbest staring contest with Manny’s agent, Dan Lozano. Now Boras can ask for 10 years at $301 million just to show everyone that he has the bigger weiner.
3. Manny is not going to win anything in San Diego, but the weather is great, the fans don’t really care, and it’s a nice place to play without a ton of expectations.
4. When the Philly electrician told Machado to “do the right thing and sign,” Manny obviously did not heed his advice. Tom, I think his name was.

So that’s that. Bryce Harper, it’s your move. We are approaching DEFCON levels that have never been realized. We are easily at DEFCON 9 or 10 right now waiting to see what happens next.

Rob Manfred spoke to reporters Sunday about a bunch of different things.

The MLB commissioner discussed free agency, tanking, and rule changes, and the biggest takeaway from his availability was confirmation of the implementation of a pitch clock during Spring Training.

Video:

Manfred wouldn’t commit to a pitch clock in the regular season. He’d like to come to an agreement with players, though he is able to unilaterally implement that change. 

More on that from MLB.com’s Jenifer Langosch:

The 20-second clocks, which have been used in the Minors since 2015, will be phased in this spring in order to allow players and umpires to get comfortable with the system. Manfred said more details about the structure of that rollout will be announced by MLB later this week.

The purpose, Manfred said, is to “start getting ready for the possibility that we’re going to use the pitch clock on Opening Day.”

That will happen if the MLB Players Association agrees to the proposal, or if MLB chooses to use its collectively bargained right to implement it unilaterally. Under the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, the Commissioner has the right to impose rule changes if the MLBPA is given at least a year of notice.

This is something Manfred could have implemented last year, but the league and the MLBPA went with other pace of play tweaks instead. That included the new rules for mound visits, inning breaks, and pitching changes.

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Jake Arrieta started strong last season, then fell off.

Apparently that’s because he had a torn meniscus, according to him. He spoke with reporters about it at Spring Training today:

Jake Arrieta said he pitched the second half of last season with a torn meniscus. He expects to be ready for the start of the season after having surgery last month.

— Matt Breen (@matt_breen) February 14, 2019

That doesn’t match up with what Gabe Kapler said yesterday, that Arrieta hurt his knee during an offseason weight-lifting program.

Conflicting timelines here:

Gabe Kapler said he didn't know Jake Arrieta had injured his left knee until January. Arrieta said he tweaked the knee in June. Kapler: "Jake’s a tough individual, so he’s not the kind of guy who’s going to let on that something’s bugging him b/c there’s a lot of pride there."

— Scott Lauber (@ScottLauber) February 14, 2019

For context, here’s how Arrieta began the season vs. how he ended the season, courtesy of BWanks:

• April and May: 58.1 innings pitched, 2.16 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, .224 BAA, allowed a .601 OPS
• June onward: 114.1 innings pitched, 4.88 ERA, 1.36 WHIP, .263 BAA, allowed a .783 OPS

Arrieta had a rough June, then rebounded in July, but ultimately his post 6/1 numbers were much different than what he was doing in April and May.

More from Matt Gelb, after the jump:

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Hey, here’s some baseball news not involving Bryce Harper or Manny Machado:

#Phillies on verge of signing RHP Aaron Nola to a four-year, $45M extension with a club option, sources tell me and @MattGelb.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 13, 2019

The deal will cover Nola’s three years of arbitration and at least one free-agent year. Will be a free agent entering age 30 season if #Phillies do not exercise option, age 31 if they do. https://t.co/dhUV3Aotx5

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) February 13, 2019

So Nola was under contract already, but this ensures they don’t have to deal with arbitration. Matt Breen at the Inquirer says Nola’s arbitration hearing was scheduled for tomorrow and notes that the club hasn’t gone to arbitration since Ryan Howard back in 2008.

It’s a raise and security for Nola, plus a bargain for the Phillies.

Next up: Bryce Harper!

Let’s get Bryce locked up.

Edit –

Here are the yearly numbers from Jeff Passan:

The breakdown of Aaron Nola's deal with the Phillies:

$2M signing bonus
2019: $4M
2020: $8M
2021: $11.75M
2022: $15M
2023: $16M club option with $4.25M buyout

The deal can cover two years of free agency for Nola if the Phillies exercise the option.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) February 13, 2019

Play ball!