The San Diego Padres’ bloated payroll situation may lead to one notable casualty this winter.
Padres All-Star third baseman Manny Machado could be the team’s odd man out this offseason, Pat Ragazzo of FanSided reported on Tuesday. Ragazzo notes that San Diego’s new ownership group will likely have to trade one of Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr, or Xander Bogaerts and adds that plenty of rival teams still think that Machado can help them.
The 34-year-old Machado is a seven-time All-Star and a three-time Silver Slugger Award winner who has been with the Padres since 2019. But he has been trending in the wrong direction this season and is putting together one of his most confusing campaigns yet.
Machado is still hitting for power (28 homers and 83 RBIs). But it is coming at the cost of his average as Machado is batting a career-low .221 and is on the verge of setting a career high in strikeouts (currently sitting at 132).
Meanwhile, Machado still has a whole lot of money left on his contract as he is owed $39.1 million per season all the way through 2033 (when Machado will be 41 years old). Machado also possesses a full no-trade clause, which would provide an obvious complication to any efforts on the part of the Padres to trade him.
That said, Machado has had some unhappy moments in San Diego this season and could potentially green-light a deal if the team can manage to send him to a winning situation. That would also inevitably require the Padres to pay down a sizable portion of Machado’s remaining contract, but it at least appears to be an option on the table heading into the offseason.
