Manny Machado is on pace to play 158 games in 2026. Only 23-year-old Jackson Merrill and 27-year-old Fernando Tatis Jr. can say the same.At 34, Machado's pace is cause for concern in light of his production on the field.By any metric, this is the worst full season of Machado's 15-year MLB career. His 1.1 bWAR is fewer even than he had as a rookie with the Baltimore Orioles in 2012, when he played 51 games, or the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when he played 60.The raw stats aren't flattering to Machado: a .129 batting average, .306 on-base percentage and .403 slugging percentage (all career-lows for a full season). Beneath that is a slowing but still-fast 74.8-mph bat speed, a well as a waning ability to square the ball up, per Statcast.Even Machado's minus-5 Defensive Runs Saved have punctured his pristine image as a premier defensive third baseman. (Statcast's OAA still views him as the best in the business, at plus-6.) It's past the point of asking whether less could be more for Machado and the Padres. He admitted to Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune that he could have used more days off to this point in the season."I mean, absolutely," he said. "For sure. I’d love that. Yeah.”Asked if fatigue is playing a role in his subpar performance, Machado said (via Acee), “I’m not sure, honestly. Maybe. Could be, sure. Could be a lot of different things. It could be one of them.”Padres manager Craig Stammen has been dealt some tough cards in his first season, and faced questions throughout about how well he's played the cards he was dealt. He acknowledged that includes questions about how to manage Machado's workload.“It’s tough,” Stammen said. “Everybody says, ‘Oh, just give him a day off.’ You’ve got a lot of other voices that say, ‘Don’t give him a day off.’ ”To be fair, the steep decline that typically arrives when a major league hitter reaches Machado's age does not always announce itself beforehand. In Machado's case, his 2025 season — when he played 159 games plus the postseason — was in line with his production from the two years prior.Stammen should have an easier time giving Machado days off in 2027. For now, it's go time. The Padres can only hope Machado has enough left in the tank to keep going until the end of October.Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on Facebook and X/Twitter for the latest news.Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow