Manny Machado is not accustomed to being placed on the injured list.
However, that is reality for the Padres third baseman as he landed on the IL with a fractured metacarpal in his left hand on Friday ahead of San Diego’s first tilt of a three-game series against the Red Sox. It marks the first time in more than eight years that the six-time All-Star was placed on the IL.
Machado sustained the injury on Monday in San Diego’s 4–0 loss to the Royals when he was hit by a pitch on his left hand with the bases loaded in the fourth inning. On Wednesday, Padres general manager Bob Melvin announced that the 30-year-old initially suffered the fracture on his left hand but that he still did not believe that Machado would land on the IL, per Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune.
When Machado was told he was to be placed on the IL, he was not thrilled but ultimately made peace with the situation.
“I think it’s what’s maybe best for the team and myself as well,” Machado said, per MLB.com. “If I can’t go, I can’t go.”
Machado could return as early as May 26 for San Diego’s series-opening game against the Yankees, per MLB.com. Since suffering the injury, he’s missed the final two of the Padres three-game series against the Royals, which resulted in two losses for San Diego.
Machado has had a rough start to the 2023 season after posting a superb ’22 campaign. This season, he is currently slashing .231/.282/.372 with five homers and 19 RBIs. In ’22, Machado slashed .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs on his way to a second-place finish in National League MVP voting behind Cardinals slugger Paul Goldschmidt.
San Diego (20–24) currently sits in fourth place in the NL West, 7 1/2 games behind the first-place Dodgers.
