And in fact, as San Diego’s season was imploding around him, he was one of the few Padre hitters to maintain an OPS better than average during the second half of the schedule.īut while San Diego’s downfall couldn’t be blamed on Machado, he also couldn’t do very much to prevent it.
Though his WAR-per-162 pace (4.62) was down from 2020, it was still his second-best season since 2016, as he continued to hit (122 wRC+) and play defense (+5 fielding runs per 162) at an above-average rate.
But that’s about when everything fell apart on the Padres’ season: Thanks in part to a devastating series of injuries that sidelined Tatís and, at times, what felt like every pitcher on the roster - no team lost more days to the injured list than San Diego last season - the Padres went 26-43 in the second half (the fifth-worst record in the NL over that period) and their playoff hopes vanished.Īmericans Are Unusually Lukewarm About A Second Biden Term 500 at the All-Star break and around an 87 percent chance of making the postseason in our forecast model. Things seemed good for most of the first half of 2021, too, with San Diego sitting 13 games above. Building around their young core, they added pitchers Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove and Mark Melancon (among others) to load up for a repeat playoff bid. In addition to Machado and Tatís, the Padres had five other players - outfielders Trent Grisham (6.35) and Wil Myers (5.16), second baseman Jake Cronenworth (4.36) and pitchers Dinelson Lamet (6.84) and Zach Davies (4.44) - play at a rate of at least 4 WAR per 162 team games, as San Diego ranked second in total WAR from position players, eighth from pitchers and second in WAR overall.Īfter their big 2020 breakout, the Padres looked like a team to reckon with for years to come. was arguably baseball’s biggest breakout star of 2020, following up on a promising but injury-marred rookie season in 2019 to blossom into an MVP candidate with even more WAR (8.19 per 162) than Machado.
The third baseman played at a career-best pace of 7.76 WAR per 162 games in the short schedule, with a 150 weighted runs created plus at the plate and strong defense (+13 runs above average per 162 games), 2 as the Padres secured the franchise’s first playoff bid since 2006 and even won a series before falling to the eventual-champion Dodgers in the second round.īut that came as part of a major ensemble effort. It wasn’t until the following season - the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign - that San Diego’s Machado-led vision finally came to fruition. But that formula didn’t pay immediate dividends in 2019, as Machado had his worst WAR (2.38) in a season since 2014, and the Padres improved by only four games (from 66 wins to 70) despite adding such a coveted talent to their infield. Out of many possible free-agent suitors in the 2018-19 offseason, San Diego won over Machado with what was (at the time) a record-setting contract and the chance to lead baseball’s youngest team, with the sport’s best collection of up-and-coming talent. Machado’s history with the Padres is already fascinating. It cannot be overstated how indispensable Machado has been to the Padres so far in 2022: He is currently on a historic pace for single-handedly carrying a playoff contender. However, as important as Machado’s performance has been to him individually, it has been even more vital for his team. Machado already ranks among the best infielders of his generation, but at age 29, he is tracking for a once-in-a-career season - the kind that defines a Hall of Fame candidacy for a player whose resume is still a work in progress. ? /BiLAwgF9w4- The Athletic MLB May 6, 2022 2 on the night for Manny Machado goes onto deck No.