Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove has suffered injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and can bear Tommy John surgical procedure, per normal supervisor A.J. Preller. Alden González of ESPN was amongst these to relay the announcement on X. The membership hasn’t offered a timeline however Musgrove is bound to overlook your complete 2025 season, provided that restoration from Tommy John surgical procedure usually takes 14 months or longer.
The information isn’t completely stunning, as Musgrove has been battling elbow points all yr, but it surely’s nonetheless tough for the righty and the membership. By the tip of Might he was already on the injured listing for the second time this yr, each of these stints resulting from proper elbow irritation. In early June, it was reported that he had a bone spur in that elbow, which ultimately stored him out of motion till August.
He had struggled earlier within the season however completed robust. By the point of that second IL stint, he had made ten begins however with a 5.66 earned run common in that point. After returning in August, he posted a 2.15 ERA in seven begins down the stretch. He struck out 29.1% of opponents and walked 4.1% in that stretch run.
It appeared he was in robust type and set to be a key a part of the membership’s postseason workers. After Michael King shoved within the first recreation of the membership’s Wild Card sequence in opposition to Atlanta, Musgrove was given the ball for the second contest. He struck out 4 opponents with out issuing a stroll by way of 3 2/3 innings however then departed the sport with members of the coaching workers, having thrown simply 44 pitches. The Friars later introduced his situation as elbow tightness.
The Padres managed to win that recreation and transfer on to face the Dodgers within the Division Collection, however supervisor Mike Shildt introduced earlier right now that Musgrove wouldn’t be showing within the sequence. Shildt stopped in need of making any declarations past that, but it surely’s now clear that Musgrove’s damage will affect excess of simply the NLDS.
Within the quick time period, the Padres will attempt to navigate the postseason with out Musgrove. They’ve King, Dylan Stop and Yu Darvish as their finest rotation choices, with Martín Pérez and Matt Waldron additionally potentialities to contribute.
They can even must get by way of your complete 2025 season with out Musgrove, which ought to make beginning pitching an offseason precedence once more. Darvish remains to be underneath contract whereas each King and Stop could be retained through arbitration for yet another season earlier than they’re slated to achieve free company after 2025. Pérez is an impending free agent however Waldron remains to be in his pre-arbitration years.
Stop, King, Darvish and Waldron is an honest foursome however the membership will presumably look to bolster that group. An absence of beginning pitching depth was a notable storyline going into final winter, which prompted the membership to focus on that within the Juan Soto commerce. Once they flipped Soto to the Yankees, they introduced again King, Jhony Brito, Randy Vásquez and Drew Thorpe, with Thorpe later flipped to the White Sox as a part of the deal to get Stop.
Brito was principally utilized in reduction this yr. Vásquez made 20 begins however with a 4.87 ERA and tepid 14.4% strikeout charge. He additionally struggled badly within the minors, posting an 8.21 ERA in Triple-A. Maybe somebody like Adrián Morejón may very well be stretched out after his strong yr within the bullpen, however there could be danger along with his notable damage historical past.
Budgetary considerations have been a notable issue for the Padres final winter as nicely. The membership’s streaming take care of Diamond Sports activities Group had collapsed in 2023, forcing MLB to take over the published because the membership acquired much less income in that division. That led to the Padres dealing Soto and ducking underneath the aggressive steadiness tax.
RosterResource pegs San Diego’s 2025 CBT quantity at $184MM, nicely south of subsequent yr’s $241MM base threshold. Nonetheless, that quantity doesn’t account for contracts for arbitration-eligible gamers. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz initiatives San Diego’s eight-player class for a complete of $46.7MM. A number of non-tenders might drop that quantity however most of it’ll core gamers like King, Stop and Luis Arráez, so the Padres are most likely extra precisely slated to be within the $230MM vary earlier than making any offseason strikes.
Preller must deal with the departures of impending free brokers like Ha-Seong Kim, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano and Kyle Higashioka. If the funds is tight once more, he may need to get inventive within the winter, which wouldn’t be uncommon for him. He’s considered one of baseball’s most lively resolution makers and is seemingly at all times concerned in all free agent and commerce talks. With this information, he could have yet another merchandise on his to-do listing. Musgrove is underneath contract by way of 2027 and is making $20MM yearly as a part of the five-year, $100MM extension he and the membership signed in 2022.
