Free agency has officially begun… in February. Mark Feinsand reported early on Tuesday afternoon that the ultra talented Manny Machado agreed on a deal with the San Diego Padres.

The deal is reportedly for 10 years and worth $300 million with a player opt-out option after season number five in Southern California. The $300 million contract is the largest free agent deal in American professional sports (different than the $325 million extension Giancarlo Stanton signed just one year ago).

Early in the offseason, there were plenty of Cubs fans out there that actually preferred Machado as their free agent choice in the a la cart menu of baseball players. But as the winter months wore on, it became clear that there would be no big name baseballers making their way to the North Side.

After countless reports, interviews, and posts making it very clear that the Cubs wouldn’t even be in the market for Bryce Harper, fans continued to hold out hope for some very odd reason.

The Cubs are broke, at least according to Tom Ricketts. And while they are doing very little to flex their large market muscles, the very small market San Diego Padres inked a deal worth more than $200 million for the second consecutive offseason, following a questionable contract with Eric Hosmer last year.

As for which team’s method will win out in the long run, it’s hard to say for 100% certain. But one team will be deploying Daniel Descalso in their infield for the next couple seasons while the other will be trotting out a perennial MVP candidate and one of the best talents this game has seen.