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Manny Machado and the San Diego Padres know they have a major challenge in front of them, as they do every year. The Padres know that even though they have a strong team with a number of high-caliber players, they are decided underdogs to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League West. The World Series champions are simply loaded with talent and dynamic leaders like Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman are not going to give up their lead position unless the Padres or Arizona Diamondbacks come up with a spectacular effort.
Spring training will be starting shortly for the Padres and every other major league team, and Machado is reporting that he is feeling strong and that the elbow issues that he had at this time last season are in the past. In particular, he is both swinging the bat and throwing the ball without any impediment at this point and he is not having any health issues.
As a result, Machado and the Padres can go into spring training knowing that the star third baseman is going to have an excellent chance at delivering yet another All-Star season. Machado has been an All-Star six times in his career, including four times with the Baltimore Orioles in the first part of his career and twice with the Padres.
Padres need Machado to deliver a big season
Since the competition in the National League West is likely to be formidable, San Diego manager Mike Shildt is going to need star players like Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Jackson Merrill and Jake Cronenworth to have big seasons.
Machado had good numbers last season as he slashed .275/.325/.472 with 29 home runs and 105 runs batted in. As good as those numbers are, it seems likely that the Padres will need even more offensive production from him in 2025. Machado hit a career-high 37 home runs when he was with the Orioles in 2017 season, and he may need to reach that level again if the Padres are going to make a run at the Dodgers.
The 32-year-old Machado is also one of the best fielding 3rd basemen in the game. The fact that his elbow is not giving him any issues at this point means he should be able to show off one of the most impressive arms in the National League.
While it's good that Machado is reporting that he has no health issues at this point in the year, the test will come as the long season unfolds. He played in 152 regular-season games last year, and the Padres need Machado to come close to matching that total this season.