Padres star Manny Machado quietly building all-time career

San Diego Padres third baseman Manny Machado has already put together an impressive career.

Machado is a six-time All-Star and a two-time Gold Glove award winner. He has finished in the top five of the MVP vote four times, finishing second in the 2022 NL MVP race. Machado has posted a .279/.338/.488 batting line with 342 homers and 363 doubles in his 7,517 plate appearances, a performance that appears to have Machado on the path to the Hall of Fame.

The 2025 season is likely to be one to remember for Machado. Not only is he eight homers away from 350 home runs in his career, but he is 100 hits away from the 2,000-hit plateau and nine runs away from reaching 1,000 runs in his career. Only 100 players have hit at least 350 homers in their careers, leaving Machado on the cusp of an exclusive place in MLB history.

Machado is also far away from retirement. The 32-year-old is just two years into the 11-year, $350 million extension he signed ahead of the 2023 season. The contract ends when Machado will be 41 years old, presumably locking him in for the rest of his career.

It is not a stretch to say that Machado will continue climbing the leaderboard. With nine seasons left on his extension, he would probably reach the 500-home run, 3000-hit, 500-double and 1,500-RBI plateaus. (He has 1,049 RBI entering the 2025 season.) Should that be the case, Machado would become the eighth player in MLB history to hit those marks. Three of those players — Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray — are already in Cooperstown. Two others — Miguel Cabrera and Albert Pujols — will join them when eligible.

A brilliant defensive third baseman, Machado has proved to be valuable at the hot corner. He is the active leader with 57.8 bWAR at third and ranks 16th all-time. Every third baseman in the top nine is in the Hall of Fame; Machado could reach that group in three or four more years.

Machado has developed in other ways on the diamond. He broke into the majors at 19 years old and had maturity issues. However, he has become a leader with the Padres, praised by the organization and is the unofficial captain of the team. Machado has come a long way from his early days, and the path could end with him taking his place among the inner circle of Hall of Fame players.