Connect with us

Published

on

PEORIA, Ariz. — San Diego Padres star Manny Machado, who underwent offseason surgery to alleviate tennis elbow in his right arm, has been throwing for roughly six weeks and has spent the last week or so ramping up the intensity on the field.

Swinging a bat and fielding ground balls isn’t a problem, Machado said. The biggest question, which hovers over his availability for the Padres’ season-opening two-game series from South Korea on March 20, is “what my arm can tolerate throwing wise.”

“Just building up my arm, building up the arm strength,” Machado said from the Padres’ spring training complex Tuesday afternoon. “I’m on a great program right now. Arm feels good how I’m building it up. It’s just staying on that plan.”

Machado, 31, spent a sizeable portion of his offseason in San Diego to work with the team’s physical therapists. He missed his family and his boat in Miami, but he felt it was important to focus on his rehab coming off a relatively down season that saw him hit the injured list for the first time in nine years and finish with a .782 OPS — 51 points lower than his career mark heading into 2023.

Machado also thought “communicating with the city” was important.

“It’s big for them to see that we’re in this with them at the end of the day,” Machado said. “You just have to embrace everything that comes with it.”

Despite a star-laden roster, the Padres fell well short of enormous expectations last year, finishing shy of the postseason with an 82-80 record bolstered by 14 wins over their past 16 games. The front office went into the offseason with plans to cut payroll, but Peter Seidler, the revolutionary owner who spent big on the roster, died Nov. 14.

Less than a month later, superstar outfielder Juan Soto was traded to the New York Yankees in exchange for pitching depth.

Star closer Josh Hader has since signed with the Houston Astros and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell will eventually join a different team, too. The Padres, meanwhile, still have massive holes in their outfield and could use another starting pitcher and perhaps an extra hitter who can fill in at first base. But Machado expressed confidence in a group that he still headlines, alongside Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts, Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish.

“Obviously no one can replace Soto,” Machado said. “He’s the top player in the game. He’s irreplaceable. I’m not saying that. But we believe in the guys that we have.”

The Padres finished the 2023 season with a plus-104 run-differential, trailing only the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers for the NL lead. But they finished just 9-23 in one-run games and were one of the least clutch teams in the sport, prompting many to wonder if the massive expectations they entered the 2023 season with ultimately became a burden.

Machado dismissed that.

“At the end of the day, we just gotta play better,” he said. “That’s ultimately what it comes down to. … We know we have it. It’s there. We just gotta take it out from within. And the group that we have here, I think a lot of guys are hungry. They’ve been hungry all offseason. We’ve been communicating.”

The Padres can absorb Machado initially spending time as the team’s designated hitter by moving Ha-Seong Kim from second to third base and Jake Cronenworth from first to second base. That would require more additions to the lineup, which Padres general manager A.J. Preller is still striving to make.

The Opening Day payroll currently projects to somewhere in the neighborhood of $150 million, about $100 million less than where it stood at the start of last season. Preller said he still has the payroll flexibility to add and has been exploring the trade market for help, particularly in the outfield.

“I feel good with the team we have,” Machado said. “We lost some big key pieces, but we believe in the guys that we have in here, with what our capabilities are. Obviously myself, Boggey and Tati, we have to perform better than we did last year. But other than that it’s just going out there and just thinking as a team. At the end of the day, it’s believing in each other.”

Continue Reading

Sports

Harris return short-lived as Ole Miss WR exits

Published

on

By

Harris return short-lived as Ole Miss WR exits

Ole Miss standout receiver Tre Harris aggravated an injury in the first half at Florida on Saturday and was ruled out for the remainder of the game, a 24-17 Gators win.

Harris initially injured his hip/groin area against LSU on Oct. 12. He returned against Florida, only to go down after a catch late in the second quarter.

During the broadcast, ABC’s Molly McGrath reported it was an aggravation of the original injury.

Harris was seen in street clothes on the sideline to start the second half. He had one catch for 43 yards and a touchdown before exiting.

Harris came into the game as one of the top receivers in the nation, leading the No. 9 Rebels with 987 yards and six touchdowns.

Continue Reading

Sports

Ward breaks Kosar’s season passing yards record

Published

on

By

Ward breaks Kosar's season passing yards record

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Another week, another pair of records for Miami quarterback Cam Ward, breaking 40-year-old marks by Bernie Kosar in both cases.

Ward, Miami’s Heisman Trophy contender who already holds the Hurricanes’ single-season record for touchdown passes and is on pace to break the school mark for completion percentage, on Saturday eclipsed Kosar’s school records for both passing yards in a season and completions in a season in the Hurricanes’ 42-14 win over Wake Forest.

Ward completed 27 of 38 passes for 280 yards, plus ran for a score. Ward now has 3,774 yards on 268 completions this season. Kosar threw for 3,642 yards on 262 completions in 1984.

Ward’s 13-yard completion to Damien Martinez with 1:27 left in the second quarter gave him 3,643 yards for the season. Kosar’s mark of 3,642 yards was set in 1984.

Later Saturday, Ward threw a 15-yard pass to Xavier Restrepo for his 263rd completion of the year, topping Kosar’s mark of 262, also set in 1984.

“Congrats #CamWard,” Kosar posted on social media. “U R Awesome.”

Ward is on pace to break Miami’s single-season completion percentage mark of 65.8% set last year by Tyler Van Dyke. He also is on pace to top the Miami career mark (among those with at least 300 attempts) of 64.3% set by D’Eriq King in 2020 and 2021.

Continue Reading

Sports

Dodgers, May reach deal after missed title season

Published

on

By

Dodgers, May reach deal after missed title season

LOS ANGELES — Right-hander Dustin May, sidelined by injuries since May 2023, agreed to a one-year contract with the Dodgers worth $2,135,000 ahead of Friday’s tender deadline.

A member of the Dodgers’ 2020 World Series championship team, May has been limited to 20 starts since then.

He had Tommy John surgery on May 12, 2021, 11 days after leaving a start at Milwaukee in the second inning following a 94.3 mph fastball to Billy McKinney. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said May felt a shooting sensation on a curveball earlier in the plate appearance.

May returned to the Dodgers on Aug. 20, 2022, then left a start against Minnesota on May 17, 2023, after the first inning, when his fastball velocity dropped about 2 mph below his season average. May had Tommy John surgery for the second time that July 18.

Expected to return during the second half of the 2024 season, May had surgery in July to repair a tear in his esophagus.

May is 12-9 with a 3.10 ERA in 34 starts and 12 relief appearances over five seasons with the Dodgers. He is eligible for free agency after the 2025 World Series.

Continue Reading

Trending