I like the basic thinking behind utility Sung-Mun Song, 29, joining the Padres this week.
Song’s best position is third base. He bats left-handed, a nice touch.
Out of respect for the daunting jump from the top Korean league to Major League Baseball, where fastball speeds tend to be 2-3 mph higher, any projection for Song must be hedged. Song himself knows he has a lot to prove.
“First and foremost, I would love to make the major league roster and spend a full year there,” he told reporters at Incheon International Airport near Seoul, per Kyodo News, after returning from his visit in San Diego to announce his four-year, $15 million deal.
As far as the surface thinking goes, here’s an intriguing scenario.
Song could spell righty slugger Manny Machado, 33, while the face of the franchise moves into his mid-30s.
Song and Machado have a close mutual friend in Ha-Seong Kim, who was Machado’s top backup in every season from 2021-23. Machado embraced Kim, hastening his acclimation to MLB.
Song, in answering questions from San Diego reporters, smiled big when asked about Padres players he’s eager to meet.
He first brought up Machado, an all-time great at the hot corner.
Call it 16 to 28 starts at third base for Song. That’s the range of start’s Machado’s top backup made over the seasons not counting the pandemic-shortened year. Other than the righty Kim, those top stand-ins were righty Ty France (2019), switch-hitter Donovan Solano (2024) and righty Jose Iglesias (2025).
Song, echoing President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller and manager Craig Stammen, said he expects to fill in at several spots.
Second base was Song’s secondary position in South Korea, but if Jake Cronenworth, a left-handed hitter, remains the starter, Song may be redundant.
The 6-foot Song might fill in at first base, and outfield duty in spring camp is on tap, said Stammen, noting the super-utility versatility the Dodgers have gleaned from Kike Hernandez and La Jolla’s Tommy Edman.
Key point: Machado may benefit from getting off his feet more often, if only as a designated hitter.
Last year, in his 14th big-league season, Machado logged his highest innings total afield in his seven-year Padres tenure. By far it was his most time at third, in part due to injuries, in three years.
Among all big leaguers, only Ke’Bryan Hayes, 28, played third base more often last year.
Manny Machado #13 of the San Diego Padres celebrates after hitting a two-run home run in the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs during Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series at Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by K.C. Alfred / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Machado’s baseball passion and high baseball IQ must be appreciated, while we keep in mind that among active players, he stands sixth in career games played and that the five players above him – outfielder Andrew McCutchen, 39, DH/first baseman Carlos Santana, 39, first baseman Freddie Freeman, 39, Paul Goldschmidt, 38, first baseman, and second-baseman/left fielder/DH Jose Altuve, 35 – are all older.
Machado has exceeded 150 games played in 10 seasons, while almost always holding down a premium defensive spot (third base or shortstop) and middle-of-the-lineup slot.
Call it the price of success, but the massive workload afield has entailed much bending and throwing across the diamond.
Machado, recall, was just 20 when he debuted with the Orioles.
A question Preller, Stammen and Machado must consider: last season, did the heavy duty at third base induce some of Machado’s offensive decline over the final 50 games last season, evidenced by a .215 batting average, a .275 on-base rate and a .629 slugging rate?
Usually, that type of conjecture is overly simplistic.
Staying in the lineup, some hitters argue, helps them in ways that don’t always translate into good results. Nor do all position players benefit from switching to designated hitter. Defensively, though some of the metrics were subpar and some of the errors were out of character, Machado continued to make high-level plays.
Machado’s greatness at third base affords him a cushion most players lack. Defensively, he gets my vote as the best third baseman in Padres history — clearing a high bar set by Ken Caminiti and, even at 39 and 40, Graig Nettles.
Preller and Machado, who’ve worked together since mid-February 2019, can explore the pros and cons relating to workload. Stammen, having assisted Preller in a front-office role, should be well-equipped to piece together all the information.
Plenty of data will be available, too. The metrics include swing speed from one game to the next game.
Next year, Machado could log another 145-plus games at third base without it being a surprise, but the Padres will want to balance the long term, too. He’s under contract for eight more years. And as folks who often tout their ambition of winning a World Series, Preller and Co. should keep in mind the World Series tournament’s exhaustive demands.
Unless they can dethrone the Dodgers, the Padres will have to win 13 postseason games. The most they’ve won under Preller: six.
Other Song stuff:
He missed most of the 2020 and 2021 seasons due to obligatory military service. He followed with two so-so seasons and thrived in 2024 and 2025, batting .315 with 26 home runs, 90 RBIs and 25 steals last year.
He has a humble sense of humor, judging by his laughter and wry comment that, if not for his steep improvement the past few years, his news conference Tuesday would’ve been to announce his retirement from baseball.
Last year, he earned his first career Golden Glove as the best overall player at third base and his first KBO Fielding Award for his defense at the hot corner.
If Song pans out, the Padres may increase revenues via sponsorship money from companies that do business in South Korea. Every Padres game was aired in the country in multiple years of Kim’s four-year run with the club. A multinational Korean tire company’s signage was displayed at Petco Park.
Preller will value Song’s insights into Korea’s top league. He becomes the fourth player in the past five years to go from the Kiwoom Heroes to the National League West, joining Kim (Padres, four years, $28 million), center fielder Jung-Hoo Lee (Giants, six years, $113 million) and utility infielder Hyeseong Kim (Dodgers, three years, $12.5 million).
At his airport news conference, Song was asked to name the Heroes’ next potential MLB player. Song replied, “I’m certain (An) Woo-Jin will definitely go to the U.S.” The right-handed pitcher is 26. Preller no doubt knows his spin rate and considerable injury history.
Padres utility infielder Will Wagner wears jersey number 24; that was Song’s number with the Heroes.