Kansas City Royals should learn from Padres signing Manny Machado

Now, adding Machado won’t suddenly make the Padres the team to beat in a stacked National League West.

It’s a division that also boasts two-time defending National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers, a Colorado Rockies team that won 91 games last season, and Arizona Diamondbacks, only one season removed from their last postseason experience.

But adding Machado adds a young superstar to a rather faceless organization. Fans can now expect to go to any one of the 81 games to be played at Petco Park and witness play a perennial All-Star, a stud on track to reach Cooperstown if the rest of his career follows his first seven seasons.

And when the cavalry arrives from the minor leagues, Machado will be ready to lead them to battle. He’s experienced the playoffs three times already in his young life, twice with the Orioles and last year with the Dodgers, when he helped L.A. win the pennant before falling to the Red Sox in the World Series.

What a novel idea: signing a young superstar to a long-term deal that will hasten the rebuild while also lasting through the team’s next competitive window. And at the same time, adding one of the few stars of Major League Baseball to an everyday lineup that fans can enjoy day after day, bringing them to the ballpark despite the overall team struggle on the diamond.

All small-market teams should learn from this.

Especially the Kansas City Royals.