Manny Machado is worth the price of admission

There are some segments of the San Diego Padres fan base that choose to lament the years or the money Manny Machado received from the team when he signed his 11-year, $350 million contract extension in 2023. His performance in the month of April should put the concerns of those fans at ease. In fact, they may even consider themselves fortunate to have the opportunity to see Machado make special plays for their team with regularity.

While Machado has yet to catch fire in the home run department, having hit just two to this point in the season, he has been hitting the ball hard. His sliders on Baseball Savant reflect that, so the home runs will come.

Machado has taken the stance in past seasons that he does not worry about how his numbers look at the start of the year, it’s about how he finishes. In six seasons in San Diego, if you remove the COVID shortened 2020 season, Machado has never played less than 153 games. With that kind of availability, it’s easy to imagine 2025 will follow suit and Machado will have the numbers Padres fans have come to expect from their All-Star third baseman.

During his time in San Diego, once again excluding the 2020 season, Machado has never hit below .254 and that happened in 2019, his first year with the Padres. He has also hit between 28 and 32 home runs, driven in 85 to 106 RBI and has scored 75 to 100 runs every season. Machado has shown with his past performances his numbers on offense will be there at the end of 162.

Machado has played in all 30 games for the Padres this season and has recorded 31 hits with 10 doubles and his two home runs. He has also walked 10 times, stolen six bases and has a .279 batting average.

It’s hard to imagine complaining about those kinds of numbers, but if fans are not impressed by Machado on offense, they have to be impressed by his defense.

In the month of April, Machado made multiple memorable plays that resulted in radio broadcasters Jesse Agler and Tony Gwynn Jr. hanging a star and praise from TV broadcasters Don Orsillo and Mud Grant.

Of course, there are plays that Machado makes that seem routine, but are equally as impressive despite the lack of excitement.

It is impossible to make everyone happy and Padres fans are always going to want more. However, I think it is important to take the time to appreciate what we have in Machado while he is here. There are more teams who would want Machado in their lineup for the next 11 seasons than there are who would pass on him.