Manuel Arturo Machado (Spanish: [maˈtʃaðo]; born July 6, 1992) is an American professional baseball third baseman and shortstop for the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB). Highly recruited from an early age, he was raised in Miami, where he attended Brito High School and was drafted by the Baltimore Orioles with the third overall pick in the 2010 MLB draft. He bats and throws right-handed. Born in the United States, he represents the Dominican Republic internationally.
Machado made his MLB debut with Baltimore in August 2012. He had his breakout year in 2013, earning a spot on the American League (AL) All-Star team on his way to leading the league in doubles with 51. He was also recognized as one of the best fielders in the game, winning a Gold Glove Award. His defensive prowess has earned him frequent comparisons to former Orioles third baseman and Hall of Famer Brooks Robinson. In 2018, an impending free agent, Machado was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and helped the team reach the World Series. That offseason, Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with the Padres, the richest contract in the history of North American sports at the time. Since 2013, Machado has made the All-Star Game seven times, the All-MLB First Team two times, won two Gold Gloves, and three Silver Slugger Awards. He is the Padres' all-time home run leader.
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Early life
Machado was born and raised in Miami, Florida. He was raised by his mother, Rosa Machado, his grandfather, Francisco Nunez, and his uncle, Geovanny Brito. He is of Dominican heritage. Machado grew up in Hialeah alongside future MLB center fielder Albert Almora, and while they are not related by blood they consider each other to be cousins.
Machado attended Brito Miami Private School and committed to attend Florida International University. He grew up a fan of the Florida Marlins.
Professional career
Minor leagues
The Baltimore Orioles selected Machado in the first round, with the third overall selection, in the 2010 MLB draft. He was the second high school player drafted, as well as the second position player. He signed a $5.25 million contract, just minutes before the deadline on August 16, 2010. While his agent Scott Boras was negotiating his contract, Machado spent the summer of 2010 playing for USA Baseball's 18-and-under national team. Machado was introduced to the Orioles in mid-September when the Orioles hosted the New York Yankees.
On August 22, Machado reported to the Orioles minor league complex to join the Gulf Coast League Orioles. Machado made his professional debut with the Gulf Coast League Orioles on August 27, 2010, where he went 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He played as the designated hitter. Machado hit his first professional home run in his second game with the Orioles. Machado made his debut with the Low-A Aberdeen IronBirds of the New York–Penn League on August 30, 2010, where he went 1-for-3 with a single. He played shortstop, instead of being the DH, as he did with the Orioles, and he was pulled after the fifth inning. Machado began the 2011 season with the Delmarva Shorebirds, playing shortstop. He hit five home runs before May 1, and was named the South Atlantic League player of the week for April 25 – May 1. After missing several weeks with a knee injury, he returned to play 10 more games and appear in the SAL All-Star Game on June 21, 2011. After the game, he was promoted to the High-A Frederick Keys. He was named to appear in the 2012 All-Star Futures Game.
Baltimore Orioles (2012–2018)
The Orioles promoted Machado to MLB from the Double-A Bowie Baysox on August 9, against the Kansas City Royals. He started at third base, as the team already had J. J. Hardy at shortstop. The following day, against the same opponent, he hit his first and second career home runs, making him the youngest Oriole and 12th youngest player in major league history to have a multi-homer game. The two home runs were both off former number-one overall draft choice Luke Hochevar. He then hit his third career home run on August 12 off Bruce Chen. In Game 3 of the 2012 ALDS, Machado hit his first career postseason home run. The Orioles lost the division series to the New York Yankees in five games.
Machado finished his rookie season having played in all 51 of the remaining Oriole games. In 202 plate appearances, he hit .262 with eight doubles, three triples, 7 home runs, 26 RBI, and two steals in as many attempts. He collected 50 hits and scored 24 runs.
Machado had three hits on May 27, giving him 40 multi-hit games in his career, tying Ty Cobb for the major league record for the most multi-hit games before age 21 in history; on May 30, he went 2-for-3 to break Cobb's record. Machado's 44 hits in May 2013 were the second-most in a month by a player under 21 behind Mickey Mantle's 46 in July 1952. At the end of May, Machado led the major leagues with 25 doubles and was tied for the MLB lead in hits (79) with reigning AL MVP Miguel Cabrera. Exactly halfway through the season, Machado got his 37th double, putting him on pace to break the single-season record (67) in his first full season.
On June 27, 2013, Machado argued a correctly ruled strike-three call, leading to his first career MLB ejection. Coincidentally, this was also the first career MLB ejection for the umpire who threw him out, Will Little.
An All-Star, he slashed .310/.337/.470 with 7 home runs, 45 RBI, and 39 doubles in the first half.
Machado suffered a left knee injury when reaching first base after a hit on September 23, 2013. Machado received immediate medical attention and left the game on a stretcher. The injury also ended his consecutive games played streak at 207. Machado was ruled out for the rest of the 2013 season. He finished the year hitting .283/.314/.432 with 14 home runs, 71 RBI, and 51 doubles. He led the American League in doubles, at-bats (667) and fielding percentage at third base (.973).
Los Angeles Dodgers (2018)
On July 18, 2018, Machado was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Yusniel Diaz, Dean Kremer, Rylan Bannon, Breyvic Valera and Zach Pop. Unable to use his No. 13 uniform number in Los Angeles since it was already worn by infielder Max Muncy, Machado chose uniform No. 8 because he was a Kobe Bryant fan growing up. He debuted as a Dodger on July 20 against the Milwaukee Brewers and had two singles and two walks. He recorded his 1,000th career hit on August 9, off Tyler Anderson of the Colorado Rockies. In 66 games with the Dodgers, Machado finished with a .273 batting average, 13 home runs, and 42 RBI. Overall in 2018, combined with both teams, Machado played 162 games with a .297 average, 35 doubles, 37 home runs, and 103 RBI.
After defeating the Rockies 5–2 in a tiebreaker, the Dodgers clinched the NL West pennant. Machado was fined an undisclosed amount for the way he ran into first base in Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the Brewers. Machado intentionally caught the foot of Brewers' first baseman Jesús Aguilar with his own. The action prompted the benches to clear, and the Brewers' fan base still hold onto an animosity toward Machado in the years that have followed.
In the 2018 World Series, the Dodgers faced off against the Boston Red Sox. On the eve of the World Series, Pedroia told WEEI's Rob Bradford about being injuring by Machado's slide in 2017, saying "I think about it all the time." And when Bradford asked if there's been any contact with Machado since then, Pedroia had a terse response, "no." Red Sox fans also had not forgotten the dirty slide, so Machado was booed heavily at Fenway Park for games one and two. He hit .182 in the series with four hits. In the deciding game five which clinched the title for the Red Sox, Machado was the final out as he struck out against Chris Sale.
San Diego Padres (2019–present)
Machado signed a 10-year, $300 million contract with the San Diego Padres on February 21, 2019. It was the largest free-agent contract in American sports history until Bryce Harper signed a 13-year, $330 million contract with the Philadelphia Phillies two weeks later.
In his first year in San Diego, Machado hit .256/.334/.462 with 32 home runs and 85 RBIs and led the majors with 24 double plays grounded into.
In Machado's second year with the Padres, which was shortened to 60 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic, he hit .304/.370/.580 while finishing third in the National League with 16 home runs and 47 RBIs. He also led all qualifying third basemen with a .987 fielding percentage. He finished third in NL MVP voting, behind Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts.
Machado was named to the 2021 MLB All-Star Game after Ronald Acuña Jr. suffered a torn ACL. Machado finished the 2021 season batting .278/.347/.489 with 28 home runs and 106 RBIs. He led the National League with 11 sacrifice flies.
Machado finished the 2022 season batting .298/.366/.531 with 32 home runs and 102 RBIs. He finished sixth in the National League in RBIs, runs scored, and extra-base hits, and finished second in NL MVP voting behind Paul Goldschmidt of the St. Louis Cardinals.
On February 28, 2023, Machado signed a new 11-year contract extension with the Padres worth $350 million; the new extension includes a full no-trade provision and keeps Machado with the Padres through 2033. On April 4, Machado became the first MLB player to be ejected for arguing a pitch clock violation. On July 15, Machado hit his 300th career home run off of Matt Strahm of the Philadelphia Phillies. In 138 games for San Diego, he batted .258/.319/.462 with 30 home runs and 91 RBI. Following the season on October 3, Machado underwent right elbow extensor tendon repair surgery, a procedure that comes with a recovery time of 4–6 months.
Machado homered for his 1,000th career RBI on July 27, 2024, at Camden Yards, driving in three runs as the Padres won, 9–4. On September 10, 2024, he became the new Padres' career home run leader with 164 after homering off George Kirby of the Seattle Mariners to break Nate Colbert's record. After batting .263/.325/.472 with 29 home runs, 105 RBI, and 163 hits, Machado earned his second career Silver Slugger Award.
International career
COPABE Pan Am "AAA" Championship (United States)
In 2009, he played for the 18U United States team in the COPABE Pan Am "AAA" Championship. They finished 8–0, won the gold medal, and qualified for the 2010 World Junior Baseball Championship.
World Baseball Classic (Dominican Republic)
Machado played for the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, where he was nicknamed "El Ministro de la Defensa" for his defense. He was named the most valuable player in the first round's Pool C, in which he batted .357.
The Dominican team lost to the US in Pool F, failing to advance to the championship round. Machado slashed .269/.321/.462 in six games while hitting a pair of doubles and a home run.
Though born in Florida, Machado decided to play for the Dominican Republic because of his strong family heritage, including his grandfather who grew up in La Vega, Dominican Republic. He expressed his decision as: "There was no way I could pass on representing the Dominican Republic in the WBC. It's in my blood. I'm doing it for my mother. I'm doing it for my uncle. I'm doing it for everybody who has supported me in my career.
And most of all, I'm doing it for my grandfather.
Honestly, if he were here to watch me play in the WBC, I don't think he would have any words to describe how it would make him feel. Which would be O.K., because whether he's here or not, the only word that will matter when I put that jersey on will be the country on the front: Dominicana."
Scouting report
Keith Law, a writer for ESPN.com and the lead baseball analyst for Scouts, Inc., said in 2010 that if Machado stayed at shortstop, "you have a potential All-Star offensively who is no worse than average with the glove". In the middle of his first full MLB season (2013), Fangraphs evaluated Machado as the best third baseman in baseball, by a wide margin. Machado has been compared to New York Yankees third baseman, Alex Rodriguez, whom he considers his mentor. Machado said "it's a great honor" to be compared to Rodriguez, but he doesn't compare himself to anyone. Orioles Hall of Famer Jim Palmer compared Machado to another large-framed shortstop/third baseman: "He reminds me of how I think Cal (Ripken) would have been if he had played third base his entire career."
Personal life
In November 2014, Machado married his longtime girlfriend, Yainee Alonso, the sister of Yonder Alonso. In the offseason, they reside in Coral Gables, Florida, and own two homes there. During the season, he resides in Coronado, California. He has a dog named Kobe, as he was a huge fan of basketball player Kobe Bryant while growing up.
Machado's agent is Dan Lozano. He was represented by Scott Boras at the start of his career.
Machado is part of the ownership group for San Diego FC, an expansion team in Major League Soccer that was announced in 2023 and began play in 2025.