Manny Machado can play different roles, but one thing he is sure he is not is a “theorist.”
The San Diego Padres star, who is not having a great 2026 season at the plate, had an intriguing exchange with a reporter following the Friars’ 5-4 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers at Petco Park in San Diego, Calif., on Tuesday.
The seven-time All-Star seemingly did not like the line of questioning of Marty Caswell of Friar Territory, who was just trying to get to the bottom of Machado’s down offense.
“I’m a baseball player. I don’t know. I’m not a theorist. You got something for me?” the 33-year-old Machado responded when pressed by Caswell about what could be a reason behind the star’s cold bat.
Machado, however, still gave something for Caswell to chew on, saying that he’s been “working on some stuff.”
"It's been tough… I'm a baseball player, I'm not a theorist."
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) May 20, 2026
Manny Machado on what's going on with his offensive struggles. "@FriarTerritory pic.twitter.com/v2glLXDUgB
On the season, Machado is batting just .182/.277/.339 with seven home runs through 46 games. Those are all down from his numbers in 2025, when he slashed .275/.335/.460.
Machado is also on pace for his highest strikeout rate (22.4) in a season. While he’s 12.0% walk rate is trending to be the best of his career in the big leagues, his average exit velocity (89.9) and hard-hit rate (43.7%) are far from encouraging. An underlying stat that offers hope for a turnaround for him, though, is his anomalous .195 BABIP.
He hit a home run in the loss to the Dodgers, so perhaps that’s a start for the three-time Silver Slugger.
