Manny Machado suffers setback during Padres’ loss to Pirates

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado has been underwhelming so far in his eighth season with the organization.

The 33-year-old veteran has posted a .215 batting average, .304 on-base percentage, .711 OPS, 24 home runs and 72 RBIs. While it is still encouraging to see him hit for power, he is simply not making contact the way he used to.

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Still, the Padres have no choice but to trust Machado to turn it around given he is signed through the 2033 season on a massive 11-year, $350 million extension.

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Monday’s loss against the Pittsburgh Pirates was especially painful for San Diego as they failed to drive in any runners from scoring position in extra innings despite having multiple chances.

After the game, a bad night got worse. Padres manager Craig Stammen spoke with reporters and revealed that Machado has suffered an injury setback. He has a bruise on the inside of his index finger that gets irritated when he makes contact off the end of the bat.

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“He’s got a little sleeve that he’s going to wear now, and hopefully it’s not something that lingers for very long,” Stammen said, per Annie Heilbrunn of The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Machado’s status should be viewed as day to day moving forward, and it is unclear if he will be in the starting lineup for Tuesday’s matchup against Pittsburgh.

The Padres cannot afford to lose Machado to the 10-day injured list, even if he has not lived up to his usual standards this year as a seven-time All-Star. San Diego currently holds sole possession of the final NL wild card spot, but the Arizona Diamondbacks sit just two games behind.

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