San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt watches Manny Machado closely, as the injury bug has hit the team hard this season. Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are on the Injured List, and Xander Bogaerts is out for an extended period. The Padres are now two games under .500 in mid-June.
Machado has been playing through an injury, providing an update ahead of Tuesday’s game against the Phillies. “Better. Better. I’m still a little tight. But whatever it takes…It’s been getting better for sure. It’s still there though. If I could come in and just play, I’d be good. But I gotta work. I go out there, take some swings in BP, I gotta catch ground balls, I gotta stay on top of my game. When you do that, it fatigues it a little bit. On top of that, you gotta go out there and play a game — bend down, squat, run. There are so many other things, so it makes it tough. But you’ve just got to just stay on top of it, keep going.”
Missing Machado would be another huge blow to the Padres, so his continued presence, even at less than 100%, is crucial. He suffered the injury on June 5 against the Angels, which manager Mike Shildt described as “mild in substance.” Machado avoided the IL but missed a couple of games. His current stats are .249 with six home runs and 33 RBIs, slower than his 2023 pace.
The Padres, amid a tough season and trade rumors, need Machado in the lineup. They recently dropped four games in a row, including a sweep by the Mets, but Machado has been performing despite his injury. The MLB All-Star Game on July 16 offers hope for some rest and recovery for Machado and his teammates.
