Manny Machado’s résumé is stacked almost everywhere you look. All-Star nods, Gold Gloves, Silver Sluggers, a $300 million deal that once stood as the biggest free-agent contract in American sports history - he’s checked off just about every box a star third baseman can.
But there’s still one glaring blank spot.
As the Padres get set for their Wild Card series against the Chicago Cubs, Machado is heading into his eighth postseason and his fifth with San Diego, still searching for the October run that matches the rest of his career. He reached the World Series with the Dodgers in 2018, but beyond that trip, he’s only gotten to the championship series twice, losing 4-0 and 4-1 in those appearances.
The numbers in the playoffs haven’t helped his case. In 51 career postseason games, Machado is hitting just .209/.259/.682 and has struck out 57 times. That includes last October, when he went 1-for-10 as the Padres and Cubs met in Game 1.
Machado’s path to this point has been a long one. Drafted third overall by the Orioles in 2010, he reached the majors in the middle of the 2012 season and made an instant impression. In Baltimore, he became a four-time All-Star and won two Gold Gloves at third base while piling up 162 home runs and 471 RBIs before the Orioles sent him to the Dodgers just days before the 2018 trade deadline.
Los Angeles brought him in for a championship push, and Machado delivered. Over 66 games, he hit 13 homers and drove in 42 runs as the Dodgers marched through October before falling to the Boston Red Sox in five games.
After that season, he hit free agency and eventually landed with the Padres in February 2019 on a 10-year, $300 million contract. At the time, that deal was the largest free-agent contract in American sports history. San Diego was hoping he’d help push the club back into contention, and the first year showed both his power and the team’s work still ahead: Machado hit 32 home runs, while the Padres finished last.
The turnaround came quickly. In the shortened 2020 season, San Diego got back to the playoffs for the first time in 14 years, and Machado finished third in MVP voting. He also won his first Silver Slugger Award and earned his first All-MLB First Team selection.
Since then, the Padres have kept moving upward, making the playoffs in all but two seasons with Machado. He has added three more All-Star selections, two more Silver Slugger Awards, and another All-MLB First Team honor in 2022.
The résumé is there. The October breakthrough is not. And with San Diego again in the postseason, Machado is still chasing the one thing missing from all of it.
In Other News...
Padres Fans Have Every Reason To Hate This Wild Card Broadcast Choice
As the Padres get ready for their wild-card series against the Cubs, NBC Sports is adding a familiar face to the broadcast mix for Game 1. Clayton Kershaw will be part of the networks Inside the Pitch crew, a choice that instantly stands out to anyone who followed his long run with the Dodgers and the years of tension that came with it from San Diegos side.
NBC Sports has said the assignment came down to scheduling and Kershaws recent work in analyst roles, not any direct tie to either team in the series. Still, for Padres fans, seeing a recently retired Dodger on the microphone for the opener is the kind of detail that can color the broadcast before the first pitch is even thrown, especially with a rivalry that has hardly faded just because Kershaws playing days are over. [Read more 🡒]
Former Padres Roster Piece Quietly Closed The Book On His Career
Tyler Wade has quietly closed the book on a nine-year major league career, announcing his retirement after a run that took him from the Yankees to the Angels, Athletics and eventually the Padres. For San Diego, he was one of those versatile roster pieces whose value often lived in the margins, the kind of player a team leans on for depth, defense and lineup flexibility as the season wears on.
Wades final MLB appearance came in 2025, and he tried to keep the career going with a minor league deal from the Rangers in 2026. But after 16 games in Triple-A, he was released and never made it back to the majors, bringing an understated end to a path that never drew much attention but still left him a place in the Padres recent roster history. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Just Sent A Serious Wild Card Message
The Padres opened the Wild Card series in emphatic fashion, rolling past the Cubs 8-0 and setting the tone for a matchup they know could hinge on every inning. Michael King delivered the kind of start San Diego needed, working seven strong frames and coming within a hit of a no-hitter, while Fernando Tatis Jr. and Manny Machado gave the offense an immediate jolt with early home runs.
Joe Musgrove handled the ninth to finish off the shutout, and the all-around performance left San Diego looking every bit like a team that expects to keep playing deep into October. Game 1 was not just a win, but a statement about how sharp the Padres can look when their rotation and power bats show up together. [Read more 🡒]