Is Manny Machado headed for elbow surgery? Padres' $350,000,000 slugger's restricted role due to lingering injury, explored

Manny Machado might be needing elbow surgery in the offseason as the Padres second baseman looks to achieve full fitness ahead of the next season. A tennis elbow inflammation problem has bothered Machado for the last two years, so the infielder is expected to get a permanent solution.

Looking at how things stand for the Padres, with a 67-75 record and seven games behind the NL Wild Card race, the writing is almost on the wall after showing much promise at the start of the season. They will now look to bring in some youngsters and rest some players who have been a regular feature throughout the season.

One of them is Manny Machado. The 31-year-old hasn't played since Aug. 31 because of his tennis elbow inflammation. The pain hasn't affected his playing time this season, but a surgery seems to be a way out even though surgeries for the condition are rare.

If he gets it done early in the offseason, his prepartions for the Spring Training next year might not be affected. Sources claim that Machado, even though he has dealt with the pain, has had discomfort with certain swings.

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Manny Machado's subpar 2023 might be result of injury

Manny Machado has failed to live up to his lofty standards in the first year of his 11-year $350 million extension with the Padres.

He has slashed .253/.317/.453 with 81 RBIs including 26 home runs from 126 contests. His WAR of 2.7 is his lowest since 2019, his first year with the franchise.

Despite having a 112 wRC+, Machado's performances have been well below average, especially when compared to the 153 wRC+ he recorded in 2022, when he came in second place in the NL MVP vote.

That maybe a result of the lingering tennis elbow injury Machado has played through.