Manny Machado Vouches For Padres After Trading ‘Irreplaceable’ Juan Soto
No player can replace outfielder Juan Soto, a generational star whom the New York Yankees acquired in a blockbuster trade with the San Diego Padres over the off-season.
But Soto’s former team doesn’t plan on packing it in before the 2024 season begins. Instead, they’re looking to compete after missing the playoffs by just two games with an 82-80 record in ‘23 – a disappointing fate star third baseman Manny Machado hopes to avoid repeating this eason.
Losing the three-time All-Star – who’ll be a free agent once this season concludes – is significant for the Padres. Additionally, they also said goodbye to Josh Hader while Blake Snell, the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, remains available on the open market.
San Diego’s roster, however, still features plenty of star power. Along with Machado, the remaining core also includes Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish.
“Obviously no one can replace Soto,” Machado told reporters at the Padres’ spring training complex on Tuesday. “He’s the top player in the game. He’s irreplaceable. I’m not saying that. But we believe in the guys that we have.”
The Yankees also received fellow outfielder Trent Grisham as part of the Soto deal. In return, the Padres acquired five players: Michael King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez, Drew Thorpe and Kyle Higashioka.
San Diego’s front office made a few notable free-agent acquisitions this winter as well, particularly in the bullpen, signing Yuki Matsui, Woo-Suk Go and Wandy Peralta. They also brought back Jurickson Profar earlier this week, adding much-needed depth to their significantly depleted outfield.
“I feel good with the team we have,” Machado said. “We lost some big key pieces, but we believe in the guys that we have in here, with what our capabilities are. Obviously myself, Boggey and Tati, we have to perform better than we did last year. But other than that it’s just going out there and just thinking as a team. At the end of the day, it’s believing in each other.”
Machado underwent right elbow surgery shortly after the 2023 campaign ended last October, addressing a concern that plagued the 31-year-old over the summer. But he remains hopeful of being ready for Opening Day on March 20th in Seoul, South Korea.
The six-time All-Star says he’s been throwing and hitting for roughly the past six weeks and has intensified his on-field training recently. One hurdle remains, though, determining how many throws across the diamond his arm can sustain each day.
“Rehab’s been going amazing,” Machado said. “As of right now, I’m feeling good. No issues with hitting or throwing. It’s just a matter of building up my arm.”
San Diego’s medical team provided an estimated recovery timeline of 4-6 months following Machado’s surgery, clouding his availability for the club’s regular-season opener. As such, he’s expected to be eased into exhibition contests once cleared to return to game action.
Despite blasting 30 home runs last season, the veteran right-handed hitter posted an underwhelming .258/.319/.462 slash line with a 114 wRC+ – the lowest of his career since his inaugural campaign with the Padres in 2019 – over 138 contests.
Machado knows he needs to perform better next season, and playing without an injured throwing arm should help him accomplish that feat. But that’s not limited to just him, either. Collectively, the Padres must overcome last season’s shortcomings.
“It was devastating,” Machado said. “We could’ve been a lot better last year, and we fell short — two games back, from a season that wasn’t so great. We know we have it. It’s there. … A lot of guys are hungry, and they’ve been hungry all off-season.”
If Machado isn’t ready to play third base off the jump, the Padres would likely utilize him as their everyday DH in the short term, moving Ha-Seong Kim to the hot corner and Jake Cronenworth to fill his spot at second base.
That would leave San Diego exposed at first base, with Matthew Batten – a 28-year-old infielder with just 58 games of MLB experience – as their most likely option to take those reps. Beyond him, the next leading candidate is Nate Mondou, who’s on a minor-league deal as a non-roster invitee.
Given that less-than-ideal situation, Padres GM A. J. Preller probably isn’t finished making tweaks to his roster as the early days of spring training commence.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Ryan Casey Aguinaldo. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.