Manny Machado (31), the face of the San Diego Padres, has finally completed elbow surgery.
On the 4th (Korean time), MLB.com, the major league website, said, ‘San Diego star third baseman Machado completed elbow surgery that day. The team reports that he hopes to return by the start of the 2024 season.
The exact name of the surgery is ‘a right elbow extensor tendon repair.’ The surgery was already planned several weeks in advance. Machado has suffered from tennis elbow in his right arm for the past two seasons. The severity of the tennis elbow injury became more serious as the days passed this season, and because throwing was difficult, he had no choice but to play as a designated hitter.
“We tried to avoid surgery as much as possible,” Machado said in an interview with reporters in the U.S. mid-month. “But unfortunately, the injury put us in that situation. Maybe if you get the surgery, you will be better than before, and we all want to make sure you get better.” “I will do it. Once the surgery is completed, I will prepare for next year and come back healthy,” he said.
MLB.com said, ‘San Diego expects that it will take Machado about 4 to 6 months to recover. That means Machado could return at spring training next year or at the start of the 2024 season. The club expects that it will take longer for throwing to recover from surgery than for hitting. Machado said, “Just as he finished the 2023 season, he will play as a designated hitter at the start of 2024 and continue to prepare his body to be able to throw.”
Even while suffering from an elbow injury, Machado recorded a batting average of 0.258, an on-base percentage of 0.319, a slugging percentage of 0.462, and 30 home runs. The OPS was 0.781, the lowest among the five seasons with San Diego.
Machado could have had surgery earlier and missed this season, but he fulfilled his responsibilities as a key hitter. Ahead of this season, Machado successfully signed a large contract with San Diego for 11 years worth a total of $350 million (about 477 billion won). Matching his price, Machado insisted on continuing to play as long as there was still a mathematical chance that San Diego could go to fall baseball. Despite Machado’s sacrifice, San Diego failed to advance to the fall baseball season, and Machado went straight to the operating table.
San Diego will open the 2024 season in Seoul. The Major League Secretariat and the players’ union announced last July that ‘San Diego and the LA Dodgers will play the season-opening two-game series in Seoul on March 20th and 21st next year.’ This is the first time that a major league regular season game is held in Korea.
Naturally, San Diego starting infielder and Korean Kim Ha-seong was featured on the Seoul Series poster. Machado took his place on either side of Ha-Sung Kim along with other key players such as Fernando Tatis Jr., Juan Soto, and Yu Darvish.스포츠토토
Ha-seong Kim said through the club’s SNS at the time, “When I joined San Diego, I never imagined that I would be able to represent San Diego and Major League Baseball in my home country. I can’t express in words how happy and happy I am to be able to wear a San Diego uniform and play in Korea. “I can’t do it. I think it will be a very special and good memory to be able to invite my fellow staff coaches to our country and experience such a great opportunity together,” he said, expressing his anticipation.
Of course, Machado was among the colleagues with whom he would make special and good memories. Machado was famous as a teammate who took good care of Kim Ha-seong from the time he first attempted the major league stage in the 2021 season. Thanks to this, Ha-seong Kim was able to easily adapt to the team atmosphere and grow into a representative infielder for the team.
Will Machado be able to recover his health quickly and safely play the opening match in Korea, the country of his close teammate Kim Ha-seong?
No Responses