Padres' Manny Machado Under Immense Pressure, Says Insider

While not yet official, the Padres are looking at a spot in the NL Wild Card round, likely against the Chicago Cubs. There is still a chance the team could catch up to the Dodgers and win the NL West, but their play as of late hasn't exactly been inspiring.

Regardless of how they get there, the Padres will likely be playing October baseball, when regular season records are thrown out the window and all that matters is finding a way to win. The pressure, as they say, is on.

That pressure is especially high, Bleacher Report's Tim Kelly writes, on third baseman Manny Machado. The 15-year veteran has had a disappointing second half of the season, hitting just six home runs in the past two months after hitting 20 in his first four full months of action. Additionally, Machado was batting just .170 in the month of September before his 3-for-5 performance on Wednesday night.

The 33-year-old has never had a great postseason resume, averaging .215 with a .638 OPS in the playoffs. Last season, Machado had just five hits in 28 at-bats, hitting one home run and walking zero times.

Two years before, Machado had his postseason career high batting average of .271, hitting four home runs and holding a .910 OPS. The Padres would like to see the 2022 version of their All-Star third baseman when they enter the postseason in just under two weeks.

For a franchise starving for its first World Series title, Machado could instantly cement himself into Padres history with a strong outing in 2025.

"The Padres have only appeared in the World Series twice: 1984 and 1998. The franchise has never won it. Whatever shortcomings Machado's resume has could be erased if he goes on an October heater and changes either one of those facts," Kelly wrote.

Kelly also pointed out that Machado's efforts in the postseason have been called into question. In his 2018 season with the Dodgers, Machado drew criticism for not running hard on a ground ball in Game 2 of the NLCS, later saying there was no excuse for it.

“Obviously I’m not going to change, I’m not the type of player that’s going to be ‘Johnny Hustle,’ and run down the line and slide to first base and … you know, whatever can happen," Machado told reporters at the time. "That’s just not my personality, that’s not my cup of tea, that’s not who I am."

Perhaps it's time for Machado to transform into Johnny Hustle over the 2025 MLB Playoffs.

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