Manny Machado has been a major league regular for 14 years. He has been an All-Star eight times. He has played in two World Series. He has signed two contracts worth more than 280 million dollars apiece. And he just said his current slump feels like being tortured.
Those were his words. After another rough night at the plate this week, the Padres third baseman did not dance around it. He sat in front of his locker, looked at the reporters, and described the experience of running up to bat night after night with no idea where his hit is coming from. He used the word torture. He meant it.
The numbers back him up. Machado came into the week hitting .218 with a .274 on-base percentage and an OPS below .650. Those are not Manny Machado numbers. Those are the numbers of a corner infielder fighting to keep a roster spot, not a player owed 245 million more dollars through 2033.
The Padres are at the wrong end of an uncomfortable conversation. They are paying their highest-priced position player at a level that has not produced run creation. They are also watching that player publicly admit he is unraveling.
This is the second time in three months Machado has gone after this topic. Back in March, he had a tense exchange with a reporter who asked about his struggles. In April, he ranted about analytics as if the numbers were the problem and not the swing. The pattern is now familiar enough that the team has to respond.
Here is the part that matters. Machado is 33. The peak years of his career are not coming back. The Padres signed him to that 11-year extension knowing this. The deal was always going to be top-heavy at the front and a problem at the back. The problem is showing up earlier than anybody expected.
San Diego has options, none of them clean. They can let him work through it and hope he finds his swing the way he has in the past. They can move him down in the order, which is going to bruise an ego that does not bruise easily. They can give him a couple of days off, which would help the body and the head. None of those options unwind a contract that runs through 2033.
The trade market is not realistic. Machado has a full no-trade clause. Even if he waived it, no team is taking on his contract at his current production. The Padres are stuck with the problem they signed up for.
The smart play is the one nobody in San Diego wants to make. Get Machado on a plan, in front of a sports psychologist, working with the hitting coach on a swing reset. Stop letting him talk to the media every night about how miserable he is. Protect him from himself.
Machado has been one of the best players of his era. If he says it is torture, that should not be ignored. It should be addressed. The Padres’ season may depend on it.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
