San Diego Padres starter Joe Musgrove hasn't pitched since 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and a flexor tendon repair, and may miss a second full year of MLB action after an injury setback. Musgrove is four appearances into his rehab assignment, posting a 4.60 ERA through 15.2 innings pitched, but the Padres don't know when he will pitch again after he began feeling fatigue in his arm—specifically in his elbow. So we’ve just got to — not really kick the can down the road, but, like, push those days off down the road a little bit and get him out there when we can.” He last appeared against the Oklahoma City Comets on August. 27, throwing five innings while striking out three batters and allowing one earned run—working his way up to 60 pitches in the outing.
Musgrove's setback isn't good news at all for the Padres, who have struggled in their starting rotation all season and are in the midst of a tight postseason race for the final spot in the Wild Card. The Padres, after their loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Wednesday, sit 0.5 games out of the third spot in the NL Wild Card behind the Arizona Diamondbacks. They have a relatively easy schedule throughout the final month of the season, though they're off to a rough start after consecutive losses against the Cincinnati Reds as they head into a series against the New York Yankees on Friday.
They'll end the season with a three-game series against the Diamondbacks. Musgrove, 33, hasn't pitched in nearly two calendar years, but has been one of the Padres' best pitchers since joining them in 2021. His best season came in 2022, when he had a 2.93 ERA through 30 starts with the team and made his first All-Star appearance.
Musgrove pitched in four seasons for the Padres, posting a 3.20 ERA through 559.1 innings pitched with 585 strikeouts during that time. Musgrove likely wouldn't be handling a large amount of volume if he were to return for the Padres this season, but that wouldn't be anything new for the Friars this season. Their starters have the third-fewest innings pitched of any rotation this season, and their All-Star-laden bullpen more than makes up for their rotation's shortcomings.
Collectively, Padres starters have a 4.33 ERA this season, so if he were to return and pitch at a level similar to how he has in the past for the Padres, he'd make a huge impact on the team. Until he does return, though, the Padres will have to hold out hope that his injury setback isn't serious.
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