San Diego Padres get the injury news they didn't want on Manny Machado

Not only did the San Diego Padres drop the deciding game of a three-game series against the Kansas City Royals on Wednesday afternoon, the Padres also got some bad news on All-Star third baseman Manny Machado and the hand injury he suffered on Monday night.

San Diego Padres injury news: Update on Manny Machado not good

On Tuesday, Padres manager Bob Melvin told the assembled media at Petco Park that he believed the hand injury suffered by Machado after being hit by a pitch from Kansas City's Brad Keller "doesn't look to be anything serious." However, after the game on Wednesday, the information had changed in a not-so-favorable way for the Friars.

Machado landing on the injured list would mark the first time since the 2014 season when Machado was a member of the Baltimore Orioles that he would be placed on the IL. Of course, there is still a chance, as Melvin mentioned, that Machado could avoid the IL, and how Machado responds to treatment during San Diego's off day on Thursday before starting a weekend series at home against the Boston Red Sox could determine the next course of action.

When Machado left the game on Monday night, Ha-Seong Kim slid over from second base to third to take over for him in the field. Kim has played the last two games at third in Machado's absence, which would likely be what Padres fans saw more and more of should Machado miss an extended period of time.

Machado is currently slashing .231/.282/.372 and has grounded into an MLB-high nine double plays. That number is alarming considering Machado has done that in 170 plate appearances this season, while he grounded into just 12 double plays in all of 2022 (644 plate appearances).

Padres fans are hoping that Machado can return to form at the plate. However, with this latest bit of injury news, Padres fans are now holding their breath on when Machado might return at all.

UPDATE: