Padres’ Manny Machado outclasses the field for NL Silver Slugger at third base

It takes more than flair to win a Silver Slugger from third base in today’s National League. The position is stacked with three-true-outcomes thumpers, on-base merchants who never chase, and part-time mashers who can steal a headline in a hot month. Through all of that noise, Manny Machado gave the Padres something louder: bankable production that didn’t blink.

That’s why Thursday’s reveal landed with the weight of inevitability. Announced on The Baseball Insiders YouTube live stream on Nov. 6, Machado brought home his third career Silver Slugger — and his second straight — by marrying volume with damage in a way few at the hot corner managed this year. Awards often chase a narrative; this one followed the math and the moments.

Padres’ Manny Machado puts the NL third-base race on ice with Silver Slugger award

Among National League hot-corner bats, Machado matched everyday volume with real thunder: a .275/.335/.460 line with 27 homers and 95 RBI (123 wRC+). 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 move scoreboards, rate stats that clear the above-average bar, and the workload to back it up.

This wasn’t empty-calorie production. Machado didn’t stack empty numbers in blowouts; he set the pace for a team chasing October and forced opponents to script around him. While San Diego’s bats searched for rhythm and veterans ran hot and cold, he showed up game after game, month after month. Put the production in context and it’s straightforward: among NL third basemen who actually manned the position all year, nobody matched Machado’s blend of output and presence.

The upshot for San Diego is bigger than a trophy case add. Back-to-back Silver Sluggers at third underscore that the Padres’ offensive identity still runs through Machado’s bat — reliable lift in a league where reliability is scarce.

If the front office layers the right support around him this winter, this award reads less like a capstone and more like the opening argument for 2026. Either way, the message is clear: in a crowded field, the best hitter at third base did what he always does, separate.