Chicago Cubs: Does Manny Machado’s decision affect the Cubs?

With the star-free agent signing with the San Diego Padres, do the Chicago Cubs bat an eye? How much does competition change in the National League?

To the surprise of many, the San Diego Padres were the team that won the Manny Machado sweepstakes. The team with the number one farm system lands the 26-year old infielder on a 10-year, $300 million deal which certainly puts them back on the baseball map. The Padres have not had a winning season since 2010 and have not been to the postseason since 2006.

Should the Chicago Cubs look at the Padres as another threat to their pennant chances with this signing? They already had a quietly promising future with their rebuild which includes prospect Fernando Tatis Jr. but adding Machado gives them an established center-piece moving forward.

There is no question this Padres squad will be better after adding a player who has had 6.0+ fWAR in three of his last four seasons. Adding veteran Ian Kinsler into the mix and hoping to have a bounce-back year of Eric Hosmer will help as well. The Cubs already have to deal with their own division, which might be the best in baseball, and they look at another upcoming team into the mix.

The Chicago Cubs should take the Padres for what they are

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One thing seems certain when Cubs fans look at San Diego on their refrigerator magnet schedules they will not be circling them as “easy wins” going forward.

Since the Cubs got good in 2015-2018, the Padres averaged 92 losses a season. Those days are over. There will be reasons to want to see them when they come to Wrigley Field for many who do not get to see Machado play often.

As for pennant chances, the Cubs players are likely not sitting around thinking, “Uh oh, Machado to the Padres puts us in big trouble!” The fact of the matter is the Padres still have some way to go through their rebuild.

Most of their prospects are still being groomed, and they lack a starting rotation. They will be much better, but it is hard to imagine them and the Cubs clashing in the postseason in 2019.

Now in the future, that may change when the Padres complete their rebuild, assuming the Cubs window of contention is still open. That will be a bridge to cross when/if they get to it. Sure, him going to the crosstown White Sox would have technically been best to keep Machado out of the league, however, it is still better than a division rival getting him. In the end, it has little effect on the Cubs for the time being.

In the meantime, the division rivals, Los Angeles Dodgers and possibly Philadelphia Phillies (especially if they land Bryce Harper) will be the biggest pennant threats to the Chicago Cubs.