Craig Stammen is starting to say out loud what the numbers have been hinting at all season: Manny Machado may need more careful handling.
The Padres manager acknowledged that managing Machado’s workload has been on his mind, especially with the veteran third baseman still carrying a heavy load deep into the year. Stammen put it plainly when talking about his responsibility to protect Machado.
“It’s also my job to take care of him,” Stammen said, via Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “He’s not gonna come up to me like, ‘Hey, I need a day off.’
… They don’t need to do that. I gotta be the person that understands situations a little better.”
Machado is 34, an age where the usual production curve starts to dip fast for most hitters. But San Diego had little reason to expect a collapse this severe. His 2025 season - 159 games, plus three more in the postseason - lined up closely with what he had done over the previous two seasons.
This year has looked different. Machado is hitting .214 with a .302 on-base percentage and a .400 slugging percentage, all career lows for a full season. Statcast also shows a 74.8-mph bat speed that has slowed, along with a fading ability to square the ball up.
Defensively, the picture is mixed. Machado’s minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved have dented the usual glow around his glove at third base, but Statcast still has him at plus-6 Outs Above Average, which ranks him as the best in the game by that measure.
The workload is the part that stands out most. Machado is on pace to play 158 games in the regular season, and only Jackson Merrill, at 23 games, and Fernando Tatis Jr., at 27, have appeared in as many games for the Padres this year - both of them much younger.
Stammen said more designated hitter days are likely for Machado as the season winds down. A full day off could happen too, but he made clear the bigger adjustment may come next year, when Machado is expected to get more rest early in the season.
“I think, for me, like seeing how these games seem to be more important than the games - just like the perception, and in reality too, everybody starts looking at standings now - it’s very hard to give guys days off at this time of the year and feel good about not putting our best team out there,” Stammen said. “Now that I feel that in a different role, hopefully I can manage the season overall a little bit better.”
In Other News...
Padres Just Lost Their Place In MLB Ownership History
For a stretch, the Padres could point to their place in the state rivalry and the broader business of baseball as one of the more notable franchises in Southern California. Now the record book has shifted again, with the Angels set to be sold to Stan Kroenkes Kroenke Sports & Entertainment for $4 billion, a valuation that resets the high-water mark for an MLB franchise sale. The deal, expected to close in 2027, adds another major piece to Kroenkes growing sports portfolio.
For San Diego, the headline is less about the Angels than the changing economics around the sport. The Padres have spent recent years navigating an increasingly competitive landscape in which ownership clout matters almost as much as payroll, and a new benchmark this large only underlines how much the industry has changed. Kroenke already controls several pro teams across different leagues, and this latest move only deepens the sense that baseballs power structure is becoming even more concentrated. [Read more 🡒]
Padres Suddenly Have 2 Surprise Award Cases In The Stretch Run
The late-season stretch has given the Padres something they did not necessarily have circled back in spring: a pair of award cases that are starting to gain real traction. MLB insider Jim Bowden of The Athletic projects Mason Miller to take home the National League Relief Pitcher of the Year Award, pointing to a dominant run in the back end of San Diegos bullpen. Miller has paired a 1.26 ERA across 55 appearances with 32 saves, production that has made him one of the defining arms in the leagues final months.
There is also a quieter but potentially bigger storyline around Craig Stammen, who is in his first year managing the Padres and has helped steer the club into playoff position. Bowdens prediction has Stammen as the National League Manager of the Year, a nod to how the team has stayed in the race under his watch. Both projections still depend on San Diego finishing strong, which leaves the Padres with more than one reason to pay close attention to the final weeks. [Read more 🡒]
Fernando Tatis Jr. Is Suddenly Carrying The Padres When It Matters Most
Fernando Tatis Jr. has turned August into a reminder of why the Padres still view him as the face of their lineup. After an uneven first four months, he caught fire with nine home runs and a .901 OPS over 27 games, giving San Diego a much-needed lift as the calendar has tightened and the race has gotten more serious.
The timing could hardly be better for a club trying to hang onto a small lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks for the National Leagues third Wild Card spot. Tatis had only eight homers through the end of July, which made the turnaround even more important for a Padres offense that needed someone to take charge when the pressure started to build. [Read more 🡒]