The San Diego Padres had a difficult decision to make ahead of Sunday's game against the Colorado Rockies. With not much season left to go, and sitting behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the standings by 2.5 games, could the Padres afford to bench Manny Machado?
He'd played in every game up until that point, and while he was struggling a bit offensively and defensively leading up to the game, sitting a player as talented as Machado would not be an easy decision to make.
However, they benched him for the series finale, and after the game, Machado shared his thoughts on being benched in a piece from Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune.
Manny Machado reacts to getting benched for the first time in 2025
"We won, that's all that matters," Machado said. "It will be nice going into an off day with a win. ... That's all that matters, is winning. So for me to get a day off, I had confidence in the team that they were going to go out there and perform and that they'll leave it all out there. And they did that."
Machado was initially apprehensive about sitting on the bench for a game, like a very great competitor would be. But, after the wear and tear of the season began to affect him more and more, this opportunity to sit for a day might not have come around again in 2025.
San Diego had an off-day on Monday, so his benching on Sunday is essentially giving Machado 48 hours of rest, a huge deal this late in the year for a veteran like Machado.
At the end of the day, Machado's sitting out didn't impact the team, as they beat the Rockies 9-6. "So yeah," Machado said, "to sit back and watch a game was pretty fun."
MORE: Padres' Manny Machado sounds off on team's 'tough stretch'
The Padres stormed out to a 7-0 lead before the Rockies began chipping away, narrowing the score to 7-6 in the 7th inning, before Gavin Sheets added two insurance runs in the 8th inning to make a comeback a lot more difficult for the Rockies.
Machado sitting for Sunday's game was his first time on the bench in 2025, and it came at a good time. He had been hitting just .170 since the beginning of September, and only .206 since the beginning of August.
Not only did Machado get some quality time off, but the Padres still won, and the veteran third baseman got to enjoy a game as a spectator rather than a starter.
With 12 games to go, including three against the New York Mets, Arizona Diamondbacks, Milwaukee Brewers, and Chicago White Sox, it's going to be a grueling finish to 2025 for the Padres.
But, fortunately for the Padres, Machado will be more rested than he's been since the All-Star break. Machado took the benching in stride and enjoyed his time watching the game from the sidelines.
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