Maybe Manny Machado is a prospect nerd, and knows something everyone else doesn’t.

Either that, or the superstar infielder isn’t interested in winning (at least immediately), because his decision to sign with the Padres, as reported Tuesday afternoon, creates an odd situation in San Diego.

The Padres, coming off a 66-win season, aren’t exactly in win-now mode despite landing one of the sport’s premier players. They have little-to-no pitching and now two huge contracts on their hands, belonging to Machado (10 years, $300 million) and first baseman Eric Hosmer (eight years, $144 million).

But the Padres do feature an absolutely loaded minor league system that includes stud prospects such as shortstop Fernando Tatis Jr., left-handed pitcher MacKenzie Gore and infielder Luis Urias, all ranked in the top 23 by MLBPipeline.com. Infielder/outfielder Wil Myers could be a breakout candidate, especially now that he can hit in front of Machado, and there are other capable players in the lineup like catcher Austin Hedges, veteran infielder Ian Kinsler and outfielder Hunter Renfroe.

Still, it’s hard to see this team competing for the postseason, given the pitching staff, which is fronted by 25-year-old Joey Lucchesi, who had a 4.08 ERA last season. The team pitched to a 4.40 ERA a year ago, and there were no major acquisitions to improve the staff. They were, after all, linked to a number of aces this offseason in trade talks, pitchers like Noah Syndergaard and Corey Kluber, for a reason.

The Padres must be counting on their prospect base to bloom while Machado, just 26, is still in his prime. It’s conceivable, just an odd fit for a superstar who’s ready to win now.