Padres Manager Reveals Manny Machado's Injury, Return Timeline

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado is out of the starting lineup for Tuesday's game against the Chicago Cubs.

Machado was forced to exit Monday's game after grounding out in the bottom of the sixth inning. He was 3-for-4 in the contest with two doubles before being pulled.

Manager Craig Stammen provided an update on Machado on Tuesday, saying he is dealing with a calf cramp that the team wants to be cautious with.

"Manny's doing pretty good today," Stammen said to reporters. "Feel good about where he's at. He's not worried about it at all, I don't think we're that worried about it either."

Stammen said Machado is considered day to day and would be available off the bench on Tuesday night. He also said Machado was likely going to get an off day this series anyway, making this decision even easier.

Craig Stammen says Manny Machado felt cramping in his calf last night and will be available off the bench today. pic.twitter.com/M7zgqgBjwn
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) April 28, 2026

For what it's worth, here's what Stammen said about Machado on Monday night after the game: “He’s fine. We took him out as precaution. It looked like he was just going down the line a little slow, came out of the box a little awkwardly. He had a couple slides at second that didn’t feel great on his lower half."

Who's Playing Third Base for Padres With Manny Machado Out?

With Machado out on Tuesday, Jake Cronenworth is getting his first career start at third base. It will be his first time playing third base since his rookie season in 2020, when he played one inning there.

“He’s just a great defensive player to begin with,” Stammen said of why the team trusts Cronenworth at the new position. “I told my son when he was just starting to take groundballs, I said, watch Jake Cronenworth take groundballs. That’s how I want you to take groundballs. So he’s someone that does everything the right way. Has always done everything the right way. It’s someone we trust immensely in this organization with a lot of different things. And feel good about him playing third base tonight.”

Cronenworth is looking forward to the new challenge.

"I'm excited," said Cronenworth, who played third base in college. "I love moving around and playing everywhere. So it'll be fun."

Cronenworth said he got a heads up a few days ago that it was a possibility in case of an emergency. That emergency came sooner than expected.

"I've kind of always been ready just in case anything happens, obviously at short or at first or now at third," Cronenworth said.

Jake Cronenworth discussed how he's prepared to play third base, if him playing third base is related to Manny Machado's injury and his thoughts on how Craig Stammen has been moving players around this season: pic.twitter.com/6GQ4cDkwEA
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) April 28, 2026

Miguel Andujar, who started at third base when Machado had his first day off of the season, is also on the bench Tuesday night.

Ty France, who replaced Machado at third base for the final three innings of Monday's game, is playing first base.

Manny Machado Heating Up for Padres

Machado was off to a slow start this season offensively, but was just starting to get going before the minor injury.

Machado is in the midst of a five-game hitting streak and has multiple hits in three of those games. He had a two-home-run game on Sunday and a three-hit game on Monday.

Overall, Machado is hitting .232 this season with four home runs, 16 runs batted in and an OPS of .742.

It appears he'll likely be back in the lineup for Wednesday's series finale. However, the team could also elect to sit Machado on Wednesday with Thursday's off day, giving him three full days to recover ahead of their weekend series against the Chicago White Sox.

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