Manny Machado a Silver Slugger lock as unwritten rule keeps former division rival out

The San Diego Padres needed a middle-order grown-up this year, and Manny Machado wore that assignment like a captain’s pin. When the Padres’ offense tilted between hot streaks and scoreless stretches, his bat was the stabilizer, extra-base damage when pitchers lived in the zone, line-to-line contact when they didn’t. That balance is the heart of the Silver Slugger conversation at third base. It’s not just that he produced; it’s that he produced in ways that travel, shaping innings and rescuing them in equal measure.

Zoom out and the case sharpens. Among National League hot-corner bats, he delivered the rare combo of volume and thump: a .275/.335/.460 line with 27 homers and 95 RBI (123 wRC+). That’s production you can set your watch to, and it came while playing the position every day and absorbing the scouting-report bullseye that comes with being San Diego’s lineup compass. Strip away the nameplate and it’s still the profile that wins this award most years, counting stats that matter to scoreboards, rate stats that clear the above-average bar, and the workload to back it up.

Manny Machado puts Padres in pole position for Silver Slugger at third

Now, about the field. Max Muncy is the one bat that can plausibly challenge on pure efficiency. His 137 wRC+ (.243/.376/.470, 19 HR, 67 RBI) is a loud number and deserves respect. But this trophy isn’t a small-sample on-base contest. Machado out-slugged him in the categories that punish mistakes and cash runners, homers and RBIs, while logging the heavier lift of run creation over a larger pile of plate appearances. In an award that historically blends impact and availability, he checks both boxes.

The rest of the board only boosts San Diego’s case. Austin Riley’s candidacy loses oxygen the moment you mention the workload, trying to crown a third baseman who logged only 102 games undercuts the spirit of a season-long hitting award. Matt Chapman (Giants) did strong two-way work and posted a tidy 118 wRC+ (.231/.340/.430, 21 HR, 61 RBI), but this isn’t the Gold Glove discussion.

And then there’s the elephant on the ballot that never truly makes it onto the ballot. Eugenio Suárez authored a monster season when you stitch the whole thing together — 49 home runs, 118 RBI across Seattle and Arizona, but a midyear hop across leagues effectively puts a padlock on his eligibility. Not because the bat fell silent; because the framework for this award treats a league-to-league trade as a disqualifier in practice. That de facto barrier trims the competition in Machado’s lane and, frankly, it should spark a rules conversation later. For now, it simply clarifies the 2025 race he’s actually running.

From the Padres angle, this matters. Machado wasn’t padding totals in blowouts; he was the tone-setter for a club chasing October and dictating how opponents pitched the rest of the lineup. San Diego’s offense needed a lodestar while other pieces found their footing and veterans cycled through streaks. He supplied it game to game, month to month. Stack the numbers next to the context and the conclusion is plain: among NL third basemen who played the position and played it all year, no one blended production and presence like No. 13.