San Diego Padres fans gutted as Manny Machado has fractured hand, team trying to avoid IL: "The bad vibes continue" "We've hit rock bottom"
San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado has fractured his left hand after being hit by a pitch Monday while playing the Kansas City Royals.
Initial X-rays didn't show any damage, but an MRI revealed a small fracture. The Padres hope it isn't bad enough that they will have to send him to the IL.
Further imaging showed a fracture in Manny Machado’s hand.
Bob Melvin said Padres still believe it doesn’t have to be IL situation, but that could change.
The injury couldn't have come at a worse time for San Diego. They Padres have been struggling, especially on offense lately. They've scored more than five runs just three times in May.
This team has underperformed all season long. They're in fourth place in the National League West, eight games behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers.
"The bad vibes continue," one fan tweeted.
The bad vibes continue twitter.com/sdutkevinacee/…
"We've hit rock bottom," another fan tweeted.
We’ve hit rock bottom. twitter.com/sdutkevinacee/…
@sdutKevinAcee We will lose 110 games and be in last by June
@sdutKevinAcee Team is cooked
After hearing the Manny Machado news, San Diego Padres fans don't have a lot of hope for the season. Like much of the team, he has struggled to get it going this season.
@sdutKevinAcee SD SPORTS CURSE IN FULL EFFECT ☹️☹️☹️
@sdutKevinAcee Of course. Right on cue
@sdutKevinAcee Just great
Yeah I’m out lol twitter.com/sdutkevinacee/…
SEASON OVER twitter.com/sdutKevinAcee/…
San Diego hopes to avoid an IL stint with its All-Star third baseman. It'll reevaluate him over the weekend and see where to go from there.
An IL stint for Manny Machado would hurt the San Diego Padres
Even with Manny Machado struggling at the plate so far, he's still the leader of the San Diego Padres. He carried the team on his back last season with his impressive performance, slashing .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs.
Even if he can stay away from the IL, the team will be without him for at least a few games. In those games, other players must step up and get it going in his absence.
Fernando Tatis Jr. and Juan Soto have enough talent to carry the team. Soto has slowly found his rhythm back at the plate. In his last five games, he's hitting .277 with a home run. In Tatis' last five games, he's hitting .315 with two stolen bases and two walks.
Another player who needs to step up for this team is Jake Cronenworth. After a couple of surging seasons, he's struggling at the plate. He's hitting .211 through 42 games.
The Padres have the talent to hold it down while Machado recovers, but they need those players to step it up.