The San Diego Padres have been one of the more puzzling teams in baseball this season. They’ve got solid pitching and clutch hitting when it matters, but their overall offense ranks among the worst in the league.
The biggest head-scratcher? Manny Machado is hitting just .172 through the first two months of 2026.
That’s not a typo. The guy who’s supposed to be a cornerstone for this franchise is struggling in ways we haven’t seen before. So what went wrong?
Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union Tribune reports that Machado spent the offseason working with Richard Schenck – the hitting coach who helped turn Aaron Judge into a three-time MVP. Instead of elevating his game, though, the changes seem to have sent Machado spiraling.
“He was looking for ways to be better, to go more explosive. So he visited Richard Schenck, best known for his work with three-time American League MVP Aaron Judge.”
The idea made sense on paper. Machado wanted to add more pop to his swing, and Schenck had a proven track record with one of the game’s premier power hitters.
But according to team and league sources familiar with Machado’s offseason work, the mechanical changes have thrown him completely off balance. He’s consistently late on fastballs – something that was never an issue before.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Machado’s struggles go beyond that brutal .172 average. He’s hitting just .216 against fastballs this season, compared to .319 a year ago. That’s not a slump – that’s a complete breakdown of timing and mechanics.
Schenck’s approach centers on staying back, coiling the body, letting the ball travel deep, then unleashing maximum bat speed. It’s worked wonders for Judge, who was having another MVP-caliber season before his recent injury.
For Machado, though, it’s been a disaster.
The 34-year-old admitted this week that his offseason work “set him off course.” That’s about as candid as you’ll hear from a veteran player about questioning his preparation.
What Went Wrong?
Every hitter’s different, and what works for Judge doesn’t necessarily translate to Machado’s approach. Judge’s 6’7″ frame and natural timing allow him to work deeper in the zone. Machado built his career on being quick to the ball with a more compact swing.
The mechanical overhaul seems to have disrupted that natural timing. When you’re trying to implement new movements mid-swing, everything else falls apart.
Machado’s current .597 OPS represents one of the steepest declines we’ve seen from an established star. He’s not just struggling – he’s fundamentally broken at the plate right now.
The Padres can’t afford to wait much longer for him to figure it out. They’re already fighting an uphill battle with their offensive limitations, and having their highest-paid position player contribute nothing makes everything harder.
Whether Machado can unlearn the offseason changes or find a way to make them work remains the biggest question facing San Diego’s season. Sometimes the pursuit of being better can make you worse, and that seems to be exactly where the Padres find themselves with their struggling third baseman.
