The injury bug has hit the San Diego Padres extremely hard this season. Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish are currently on the Injured List. Xander Bogaerts is out for the foreseeable future, and the Padres are now two games under .500 in the middle of June.
Manny Machado has also been nursing an injury as of late, although he has toughed it out and been able to play through it at some point. Ahead of Tuesday's game against the Phillies, Machado gave an important update on his injury status, per Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
“Better. Definitely better. I’m still a little tight. But whatever it takes…It’s been getting better for sure. It’s still there though. If I could come in and just play, I’d be good. But I gotta work. I go out there, take some swings in BP, I gotta catch ground balls, I gotta stay on top of my game. When you do that, it fatigues it a little bit. On top of that, you gotta go out there and play a game — bend down, squat, run. There’s so many other things, so it makes it tough. But you’ve just got to just stay on top of it, keep going.”
Machado missing a period of time would be another huge blow to the Padres, so this sure seems encouraging on that front. While he admits it's tough, he's still been playing, even if it is far from 100%.
A look at Manny Machado's lingering injury
The Padres and their fans got a bit of a scare when Machado suffered the injury on June 5 in a game against the Los Angeles Angels. After the Angels game where Machado left earlier, manager Mike Shildt admitted it was “mild in substance.”
Since then, he has avoided a trip to the IL, although he missed a couple of games right after that. On the year, Machado is hitting just .249 with six home runs and 33 RBI, which is a slower pace than his 2023 numbers.
Still, it is no secret that the Padres need him in the lineup on a daily basis, especially with the other injuries. Entering Tuesday's contest, San Diego has dropped four in a row and suffered a three-game sweep against the New York Mets. They lost five in a row at the beginning of June before winning five of the next six, so it has been a hot and cold month for San Diego. In Monday's loss, Machado had a pair of his with a run scored.
With the MLB Trade Deadline approaching, there are once again entrenched in plenty of trade rumors, which is nothing new for general manager A.J. Preller. With a subpar record amid all the expectations, there should be a major need to add some pieces.
As far as Manny Machado goes, he is still playing on a regular basis despite the lingering injury, and the hope is that it doesn't get worse. The MLB All-Star Game is July 16, so in a few weeks, Machado and the rest of the team who aren't participating will be able to get some much-needed rest.
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