San Diego Padres star Manny Machado has almost had as many injuries as his long list of on-field accomplishments, but he’s finally turned a corner. For now, at least.
Machado joked about the last time he felt fully healthy, via The Sporting Tribune’s Marty Caswell.
Manny Machado on what it means to be full healthy and addition of Nick Pivetta@SportingTrib pic.twitter.com/aG2ChTkCiq
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) February 17, 2025
“Today,” the six-time All-Star said. “And then it’s back to not being at 100%.”
However, Machado clarified that he is “absolutely” at 100% health for the start of spring training. This is a significant milestone for the 32-year-old, as he admitted that he was never fully healthy last season despite hitting .275 with 29 homers, 105 RBI, and a .797 OPS across 152 games. His RBI total ranked ninth in the league.
Machado missed a few games last season with a strained right hip flexor, which was caused by trying to beat out a double play. The ailment temporarily limited the infielder to designated hitting as well.
Machado also had elbow surgery in 2023 and knee surgery in 2013. Despite the adversity, he’s still a three-time All-MLB honoree and won his second Silver Slugger award last season.
If Machado did much of that while injured, imagine if he’s fully healthy all season.
Manny Machado opens up about Padres’ Nick Pivetta
San Diego has plenty to be excited about. In addition to a healthy Machado, it now has right-handed hurler Nick Pivetta to round out the pitching staff after signing him to a four-year, $55 million deal. The 32-year-old registered a 4.14 ERA and 1.13 WHIP with 172 strikeouts in 27 appearances for the Boston Red Sox last season. His strikeout total was tied for 28th in the MLB.
“Yeah, he’s a competitor for sure, man. I’m glad to have him on our team,” Machado said. “He’s gonna go out there, he’s gonna grind and fit in perfectly with the guys we have here. We have a lot of guys that are just like him, they go out there and compete. That’s what makes us so special as a group, we have a bunch of competitors. Obviously, we have some superstars, we have some really good players, but we have a lot of competitors.”
Padres ace Michael King also called Pivetta a “dog,” via The San Diego Tribune’s Jeff Sanders.
San Diego didn’t stop with Pivetta, though. The club also signed former South Korean League (KBO) pitcher Kyle Hart to a one-year deal on Thursday. The 32-year-old won the KBO’s version of the Cy Young Award last season.
The Padres are now an even better team on paper than they were when they took the championship-winning Los Angeles Dodgers to Game 5 of the NLDS last season, but they’ll need to prove it on the diamond before they celebrate.
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