Padres News: Manny Machado Left Off Top 10 Third Basemen List
It was just last season that we saw Manny Machado putting the San Diego Padres on his back and putting forth a year filled of home runs, elite defense, and newfound leadership. He finished number two in voting for the NL MVP just behind Paul Goldschmidt and came within a couple of wins from a World Series appearance.
Coming into 2023, many expected Machado to bring forth that same fire he displayed in the Friars' best season in years. With an even better roster around him, a new 11-year contract, and the support of the entire city, the 30-year-old star seemed poised to at least match that level of play.
But that just hasn't been the case. San Diego has been playing better as of late but the first month of the season was pretty rough as they found themselves pretty low when it came to every major batting stat. His slash line is currently .246/.301/.385 which has every category down compared to 2022 where he was posting .298/.366/.531. His OPS is always down from .898 to .686.
Much like the rest of the roster, nobody really expects these struggles to last. Machado has still been making stellar plays at third base like he always does but Bleacher Report hasn't been too kind nor considerate and decided to leave the star infielder off of their early rankings for the current top ten third basemen.
"Superstars Manny Machado (84 OPS+, .235/.281/.378, 4 HR, 13 RBI, 0.0 WAR) and Nolan Arenado (69 OPS+, .236/.291/.317, 2 HR, 14 RBI, 0.1 WAR) have both gotten off to slow starts this season after finishing second and third, respectively, in NL MVP voting in 2022."(Via Bleacher Report)
The Friars are in the middle of a big series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Machado's former team, so he probably is not too worried about these rankings.
He is the emotional and vocal leader in San Diego's clubhouse and as his numbers climb up, so will the team's charisma.
