San Diego Padres could have answer for Machado injury in C.J. Abrams

Heading into Tuesday’s home game against the Arizona Diamondbacks, the San Diego Padres still have plenty of questions swirling about the short-term status of Manny Machado and exactly how much time he will miss with a left ankle sprain.

However, San Diego Padres shortstop C.J. Abrams has the ability to fill the gap while Machado is out, making the need for the Padres to make any kind of outside move not necessary.

The promotion of C.J. Abrams could take pressure off the San Diego Padres as Manny Machado heals

Certainly it’s not to be expected that Abrams, promoted on Monday, completely fills the void left by Machado in the wake of what appeared to be a gruesome ankle injury against the Colorado Rockies on Father’s Day, but then turned out to be not as serious as first believed. After all, Machado is putting together numbers that have him in the early National League MVP conversation as he leads the Padres with 4.0 bWAR with a .328/.400/.545 slash line with 12 home runs and 46 RBI.

But the Padres don’t need Abrams to be Machado. They just need him to provide enough on offense and defense to bridge the gap until Machado can return to the field healthy and continue to pace the San Diego offense.

Asking Abrams, who struggled to a .182/.270/.273 slash line in 20 games earlier this season before being sent back down to Triple-A, to be Machado is too big of an ask. Asking him to be himself and give the Padres solid defense and good at-bats is plenty for right now.

If the 21-year-old Abrams can show the Padres more than he did during his first stint with the team, that’s enough to not only help San Diego get through however much time Machado will miss, but also give the franchise a glimpse of what their future might hold with him.

Abrams certainly has the skills to be what San Diego needs to survive Machado’s time away from the diamond. He doesn’t need to put up MVP numbers. Abrams just needs to put up numbers with no pressure to be Machado on his shoulders as his development continues.