San Diego Padres’ Star Might Not Be Ready to Play Defense By Opening Day
According to Dennis Lin of ‘The Athletic,’ San Diego Padres star Manny Machado might not be ready to play defense by Opening Day as he recovers from elbow surgery.
As he recovers from elbow surgery, San Diego Padres star Manny Machado might not be ready to play defense by Opening Day.
According to Dennis Lin of ‘The Athletic:’
Machado’s rehabilitation from elbow extensor tendon repair surgery could buy the Padres some time. The third baseman might not be ready to play defense by late March, and it just so happens (Ha-Seong) Kim has significant experience at Machado’s position. With the Padres in need of solutions at designated hitter, Machado might be a temporary answer during the opening weeks of the season
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Lin is referring to the Padres 40-man roster and playing time crunch, which might be partially alleviated if Machado has to spend early-season time at designated hitter.
Machado, 31, is a six-time All-Star who has played 12 years in the big leagues with the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers and the Padres. Lifetime, he’s a .279 hitter with a .339 on-base percentage. He’s hit 313 career home runs and has 944 RBI. He’s coming off a season in which he hit 30 homers and drove in 91 for San Diego, which was one of the most disappointing teams in baseball in 2023.
After getting to the NLCS in 2022, the team failed to make the playoffs, finishing third in the National League West. While San Diego still has stars like Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Machado, the team has also seen an immense amount of talent depart in free agency this year.
They’ve lost Seth Lugo, Josh Hader, Nick Martinez in that market – and also traded away Juan Soto to the New York Yankees.
