Padres Rumors: Insider Calls Manny Machado Team’s ‘Most Unmovable Player’

Hopefully, 2024 is a better year for the veteran.
Padres Rumors: Insider Calls Manny Machado Team’s ‘Most Unmovable Player’
Padres Rumors: Insider Calls Manny Machado Team’s ‘Most Unmovable Player’ /
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The 2023 season was a very weird one for the San Diego Padres, as it saw the team miss the postseason after a strong offseason. It was an all-around disappointing year for the Friars, and a massive missed opportunity with the collection of talent on the roster.

It saw the entire team underperform, and it cost them in the end. But one of the players who had a shaky season was star third baseman Manny Machado. He dealt with an elbow injury for a good part of the year, and it affected things for him at the plate.

"Machado spent much of 2023 playing through a case of tennis elbow, was relegated to DH duty in September and still finished with 30 home runs. Then, last week, he underwent surgery to repair an extensor tendon. He might be the first major leaguer to undergo this exact kind of elbow operation."

Per Dennis Lin of The Athletic

For the year, Machado hit .258 with 30 home runs and 91 runs batted in. It was a down year by his standards, and now this offseason will be spent rehabbing the elbow from his surgery,

“He could be limited at the start of next season and he’ll turn 32 in July during the second year of an 11-year, $350 million contract. For better or worse, Machado is the most unmovable player on the Padres.”

Per Dennis Lin of The Athletic

The Padres are stuck with Machado for the foreseeable future after giving him his extension prior to the start of last season, and they will gladly take his production for the next few years. Where it gets tricky is about halfway into the 11-year deal, because Machado is already 31 years old.

San Diego is paying for his last few prime years, and then they will have to figure out what to do with him. Hopefully, Machado can stay healthy going forward, but if he continues to have injury issues, San Diego could be in a world of trouble with his contract.


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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.