'Can't take that pain anymore:' Surgery looming soon for Padres' Manny Machado
Yes, the Padres’ postseason odds have begun with a zero for quite some time. But there’s a number to the right of the decimal point and that means something to Manny Machado as he contemplates precisely when to have surgery to correct the tennis elbow dogging him for two years now.
The 31-year-old third baseman acknowledged on Monday that he might allow a surgeon to cut into him before the end of this season.
But likely not until the Padres’ playoff odds have flatlined, mathematically.
“I’m going to play until we’re out,” Machado said.
That seems only a matter of time.
The Padres began the week on their first real winning streak of the season, but they were also six games under .500 still, six games out of the NL’s last wild-card spot and staring at 0.1 percent playoff odds as calculated by ESPN just ahead of Monday’s first pitch.
Juxtapose that steep road against the fact that Machado’s ailing right elbow has kept him from playing the field all month and has barred him from the lineup entirely in three of the Padres’ last eight games.
Machado first began contending with the balky elbow last year, although he’d only been discussing the injury publicly in recent weeks as the topic had become unavoidable.
He helped carry the Padres back into the cusp of contention in July, pairing 11 homers with a .309/.411/.681 batting line. But his OPS fell from 1.092 that month to .674 in August as he collected more and more DH days.
The production has been better in September — three homers and a .843 OPS — but Machado admitted Monday it’s been quite the struggle, one that appears to be coming to a head soon.
“Not doing too great,” he said. “As most of you guys will know, I kind of like staying away from the media about my injuries and just play through pain. I think we’re kind of past that point and I’ve been dealing with the elbow for three or four months. Actually, if you want to think about it, it’s been two years and I think it’s gotten to the point where I might have to go in the direction of having surgery pretty soon here.
“It’s gotten to the point where I can’t take that pain anymore. I think it’s taken a hit on my performance and whenever you can’t perform at the highest level, it’s tough and you put yourself, you put the team in a bad situation.”
An independent orthopedic surgeon who has not examined Machado told the Union-Tribune last week that the most invasive of surgical corrections would likely require three to four months of recovery before a return to play. Speaking off the cuff Monday, Machado offered a longer window — “probably about six- or seventh-month recovery,” he said — while saying that he hopes that puts him in line to start the 2024 season … in six months.
“I was trying to avoid (surgery) as much as I can,” Machado said. “It’s tough. We were trying to look at different ways we could try to fix it. We’ve done shots. We’ve done therapy. We’ve done recovery, some rest, and none of those have worked.”
Surgery is the last resort, one he won’t allow until that math closes the book on this disappointing season. The Padres will set a new attendance record on Monday, but they not only failed to build on last year’s NLCS run, they fell flat on their face as Padres Chairman Peter Seidler bankrolled baseball’s third-highest payroll.
Now it will take quite a run not to finish with a losing record. Beyond that, the Padres will need all kinds of help to force their way into the postseason.
But there’s a chance.
So Machado is waiting.
For now.
“I think we finally got four (wins) in a row,” Machado said. “I think that’s a good thing and we’ve got 12 left. … We’ll see where we do it, but until we’re out, we’re going to continue doing it, but then at some point it’s, how much can I do for this team?”
He added: “I hate letting my team down late. I don’t like putting myself in this situation. I hate the DL. I hate everything. It’s a tough one, but ultimately it’s what’s best for me, best for the team and what’s best for moving forward.”
