Manny Machado out indefinitely
A horrific-looking injury at first base leaves the San Diego Padres’ star third baseman with no broken bones, but with an unsure diagnosis for his return
The San Diego Padres 8-3 loss to the Colorado Rockies was the least of their concerns, when Manny Machado twisted his ankle at first base in the first inning, leaving him out of the lineup indefinitely.
At the time that the play happened, it certainly looked a lot worse than it turned out to be, with replay video appearing to show the ankle to be broken. Luckily, subsequent x-rays revealed that it was not a break, but rather a serious sprain.
Hitting a dribbler back to the pitcher, Machado steamed down the line to try and beat the throw. Stretching out to touch the base, his foot twisted and he went down in a heap. Replays showed the ankle buckling beneath him and his foot turned at a stomach-churning angle.
Machado struggled off the diamond and was replaced in the game by Sergio Alcantara. His power in the batting order is what will be missed most, with Fernando Tatis Jr likely out for the bulk of the season, Machado has taken up the slack. Luke Voit has power of his own, but knows that it isn’t enough.
“We need some guys to fill that void,” said Voit. “I’m going to do everything I can to keep doing what I’ve been doing, just be myself, not turning to something different. But it’s tough because [Manny is] capable of doing a lot of things.”
Voit was in the on deck circle when the injury took place, and like most fans watching, initially thought it was far more serious.
“Luckily, it was his ankle,” said Voit. “Honestly, it could have been his knee, which would have been detrimental to our team. I think he’s in good spirits right now. And hopefully it’s something minimum and he’ll be back out there pretty soon.”
Interim manager Ryan Flaherty is hopeful, but remaining reserved, saying “Fortunately, when he felt himself slip, he was able to shift his weight to the right and probably avoid more serious damage.”
Flaherty continued, “We’ve got to wait for the swelling to go down and he gets treated. We’ll probably have a better idea of that [Monday].”
Machado is having a strong season, hitting .329 with 12 home runs, 46 RBIs and seven stolen bases, to put him in the NL MVP conversation.