If it seems like a bunch of MLB’s biggest stars are struggling to begin the 2026 season, you aren’t necessarily wrong. Cal Raleigh, Bo Bichette, Mookie Betts and Manny Machado are among those with a wRC+ below 80 -- a stat that measures overall offensive production on a 100-point average.
But this might not be abnormal, at least not in the eyes of Joey Votto, who dove into the topic Wednesday during his weekly appearance on "MLB Now."
“Every year, we're going to have a sample of players that are deemed stars, we're going to have the best player in the game have a down year,” Votto said. “Very recently, [this group has] been quite successful, and they're just not starting off like they would hope to. So this is quite common.”
Votto, a former MVP and six-time All-Star, said he went through several of these stretches in his own career. He added that it simply seems worse at the start of a season because players don’t already have stats built up to offset a bad stretch.
“Oftentimes, it's about, when you're down, can you come back. When you're feeling at your very worst, when you're sick -- all these inevitable experiences are going to cross your path,” Votto said. “Do you have the wherewithal to be able to push through? And the examples of players that you have are all going to push through, because they're all proud, competitive guys.”
Machado has drawn particular attention, considering his status as the most accomplished hitter on a Padres team that currently holds MLB’s lowest batting average (.216) and fewest runs scored per game (3.8).
Machado entered Wednesday hitting .171/.253/.342 with 11 home runs and a career-high 22.9% strikeout rate.
“I remember Derek Jeter starting off one year, I think he had an identical start to Manny, and I just remembered he ran through first base hard, he played hard, he showed up every day,” Votto said. “Manny's always going to show up. I mean, he's at almost 2,000 games played.
“At the end of the season, if this is not his very best season, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a failure. It just means that it's another step along his Hall of Fame career.”