Dodgers: Manny Machado’s Time as a Dodger has Been Underwhelming

The Dodgers acquired the only true superstar available at this season’s non-waiver trade deadline but unfortunately for the Dodgers, Manny Machado has failed to impress so far in his Dodger tenure.

On Sunday Manny Machado went 0-4 and left four runners on base.  Machado came to the plate in the seventh inning with a chance to give the Dodgers the lead but Machado lined out and was even pulled in a double switch after his fourth at-bat.

The fact that Dave Roberts pulled Machado sums up just how his Dodger tenure has gone so far.  While Justin Turner replaced Machado Sunday it is still telling that Machado was pulled in a game that the Dodgers were trailing in.  Pulling a superstar while trailing isn’t the recipe for a comeback but Roberts figured Turner would give the Dodgers a better chance to score than Manny Machado yesterday.

As a Dodger, Manny Machado is posting a .264/.379/.542 slash line.  The slugging numbers outside of the home run have not been bad for Manny but most of his extra base hits have come with the bases empty as opposed to putting runs on the board.  Machado has failed to homer or knock in a run in the last eleven games.

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During the month of August which is now just about half-way over, Machado has posted a very underwhelming .263/.282/.368 slash line.  To go with the unimpressive slash line is the fact that during August, Manny Machado has not yet homered or driven in a run.  Even four games at Coors Field was not enough to help Machado knock a few baseballs out of the park.

For comparison’s sake, Brian Dozier has played in twelve fewer games as a Dodger but he has one more home run than Manny Machado and six more RBI’s during his Dodger tenure.  While Dozier has mainly hit fourth for the Dodgers, he has also hit leadoff some games so the RBI total is a fair comparison to Machado who hits second in the order.

The Dodgers figured Machado would provide below average defense but more than make it up for it at the plate but the opposite has actually been true.  Machado has played stellar defense for the Dodgers using his arm to display some impressive range at shortstop and third base.  Now if Manny would start hitting like the superstar he is, the Dodgers would really start rolling.

It’s fair to wonder why Machado is off to a slow start in Dodger blue.  Is it the pressure of a contract season getting to him or is he trying to hard to impress his teammates and new city?  Whatever the case is, hopefully, Machado figures it out soon because he can help propel the Dodger offense to the next level they have yet to reach.