Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove has suffered harm to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and can endure Tommy John surgical procedure, per common supervisor A.J. Preller. Alden González of ESPN was amongst these to relay the announcement on X. The membership hasn’t supplied a timeline however Musgrove is certain to overlook all the 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 12 months, however it’s nonetheless tough for the righty and the membership. By the top of Could he was already on the injured checklist for the second time this 12 months, each of these stints on account of proper elbow irritation. In early June, it was reported that he had a bone spur in that elbow, which finally stored him out of motion till August.
He had struggled earlier within the season however completed sturdy. 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 sturdy kind and set to be a key a part of the membership’s postseason workers. After Michael King shoved within the first sport 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 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 concern as elbow tightness.
The Padres managed to win that sport and transfer on to face the Dodgers within the Division Sequence, however supervisor Mike Shildt introduced earlier at the moment that Musgrove wouldn’t be showing within the sequence. Shildt stopped in need of making any declarations past that, however it’s now clear that Musgrove’s harm will affect way over 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 may also should get by all the 2025 season with out Musgrove, which ought to make beginning pitching an offseason precedence once more. Darvish remains to be beneath contract whereas each King and Stop may be retained through arbitration for yet another season earlier than they’re slated to succeed in 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 a good foursome however the membership will presumably look to bolster that group. A scarcity 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. After 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 largely utilized in aid this 12 months. Vásquez made 20 begins however with a 4.87 ERA and tepid 14.4% strikeout price. He additionally struggled badly within the minors, posting an 8.21 ERA in Triple-A. Maybe somebody like Adrián Morejón might be stretched out after his stable 12 months within the bullpen, however there could be threat together with his notable harm historical past.
Budgetary considerations had been a notable issue for the Padres final winter as effectively. The membership’s streaming cope with Diamond Sports activities Group had collapsed in 2023, forcing MLB to take over the printed because the membership obtained much less income in that division. That led to the Padres dealing Soto and ducking beneath the aggressive stability tax.
RosterResource pegs San Diego’s 2025 CBT quantity at $184MM, effectively south of subsequent 12 months’s $241MM base threshold. Nevertheless, 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 may drop that quantity however most of it’s going to core gamers like King, Stop and Luis Arráez, so the Padres are in all probability extra precisely slated to be within the $230MM vary earlier than making any offseason strikes.
Preller should 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 might need to get artistic within the winter, which wouldn’t be uncommon for him. He’s considered one of baseball’s most lively determination makers and is seemingly all the time concerned in all free agent and commerce talks. With this information, he may have yet another merchandise on his to-do checklist. Musgrove is beneath contract by 2027 and is making $20MM yearly as a part of the five-year, $100MM extension he and the membership signed in 2022.
