Padres News: Playing Through Injury, Manny Machado is Leaving it All Out There for Friars
Admitting he will need surgery to address his ailing elbow, Padres third baseman Manny Machado said he'd get the procedure done whenever his team is eliminated.
The operation may have to wait as he's gutting out with the way he's playing right now, earning a curtain call at Petco for his performance against the Cardinals to start their series this weekend.
“I love to play baseball,” he said.” I love my teammates. I love going out there and competing every single day with them and we made a call at the beginning of the year. It was to try to reach a goal. And that goal’s still not done yet. We’ve still got the team to go out there and do it and compete and continue doing what we’ve got to do. And, you know, whenever that time comes that I gotta do the surgery, I’ll do it. We know that’s there. That’s gonna happen. But you know, for now, it’s just going out there and competing and eight games left to empty the tank.
With his second multi-homer game since his return to the lineup against the Dodgers, Machado notched his 29th and 30th dingers for 2023, both in go-ahead fashion.
Missing much of August with the elbow injury, the superstar is refusing to quit this season until the standings indicate he's been mathematically eliminated.
Facing criticism earlier this month for his attitude in the clubhouse and questionable leadership, Machado silenced these critics in the most pivotal moments of the season.
Even if the odds are stacked against them, perhaps being the underdog favors the Friars rather than their lofty preseason expectations given their recent winning streak.
Led by Machado and the other talent on their roster, getting back to the postseason remains all the Padres care about with just a few games remaining.
