San Diego Padres: Manny Machado and the bionic ankle
When last we saw San Diego Padres‘ third baseman Manny Machado, he was being helped off of the diamond on Sunday. His foot had slipped on first base as he ran out a ground ball, leaving him slumped on the ground in obvious agony. A stint on the Injured List, at minimum, seemed inevitable.
The Padres resisted putting Machado on the IL however. They wanted to give him a couple of days first to see how his ankle responded to treatment, hoping that they would be able to get an extra game or two out of him as they continue their playoff push.
San Diego Padres could get Manny Machado back soon
Machado may be back much quicker than anyone could have imagined at the time. He was seen walking through the clubhouse on Monday night without a limp, giving hope that he could return to the lineup in another day or two.
This is certainly great news for the Padres. Machado had produced an impressive .328/.400/.545 batting line in his 285 plate appearances, hitting 12 homers and 17 doubles. He had been the frontrunner for the NL MVP award prior to his injury and a key part of why the Padres were threatening the Dodgers for the NL West.
The Padres had already made a move in case Machado was lost for an extended period of time. C.J. Abrams had been called up from Triple-A and would likely have slotted into the lineup with Ha-Seong Kim moving to third. However, that no longer appears as though it will be necessary.
Instead, it is a testament to how quickly Machado has healed. As Kevin Agee joked in his tweet above, Machado was too busy healing to talk to any of the reporters in the clubhouse last night. If he keeps going at this rate, he may be in the lineup in the next couple of days.
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Manny Machado is already walking around the clubhouse normally. The San Diego Padres could get their star third baseman back shortly.