Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove has suffered injury to the ulnar collateral ligament in his elbow and can bear Tommy John surgical procedure, per basic supervisor A.J. Preller. Alden Gonzalez of ESPN was amongst these to relay the announcement on X. The membership hasn’t offered a timeline however Musgrove is certain to overlook the complete 2025 season, on condition that restoration from Tommy John surgical procedure typically takes 14 months or longer.
The information isn’t completely shocking, as Musgrove has been battling elbow points all yr, however it’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 because of proper elbow irritation. In early June, it was reported that he had a bone spur in that elbow, which ultimately saved 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 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 collection towards Atlanta, Musgrove was given the ball for the second contest. He struck out 4 opponents with out issuing a stroll via 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 problem as elbow tightness.
The Padres managed to win that sport and transfer on to face the Dodgers within the division collection, however supervisor Mike Shildt introduced earlier Friday that Musgrove wouldn’t be showing within the collection. Shildt stopped wanting 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 greatest rotation choices, with Martín Perez and Matt Waldron additionally prospects to contribute.
They will even need to get via the 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 may be retained through arbitration for yet another season earlier than they’re slated to achieve free company after 2025. Perez 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. 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 Vasquez 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 reduction this yr. Vasquez made 20 begins however with a 4.87 ERA and tepid 14.4% strikeout fee. He additionally struggled badly within the minors, posting an 8.21 ERA in Triple-A. Maybe somebody like Adrian Morejon could possibly be stretched out after his stable yr within the bullpen, however there could be danger together with his notable harm historical past.
Budgetary issues 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 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 $184M, effectively south of subsequent yr’s $241M base threshold. Nonetheless, that quantity doesn’t account for contracts for arbitration-eligible gamers. MLBTR contributor Matt Swartz tasks San Diego’s eight-player class for a complete of $46.7M. A number of non-tenders may drop that quantity however most of it will core gamers like King, Stop and Luis Arraez, so the Padres are in all probability extra precisely slated to be within the $230M vary earlier than making any offseason strikes.
Preller should handle the departures of impending free brokers like Ha-Seong Kim, Jurickson Profar, Donovan Solano and Kyle Higashioka. If the finances is tight once more, he might need to get artistic within the winter, which wouldn’t be uncommon for him. He’s one among baseball’s most lively choice makers and is seemingly at all times concerned in all free agent and commerce talks. With this information, he may have yet another merchandise on his to-do listing. Musgrove is underneath contract via 2027 and is making $20M yearly as a part of the five-year, $100M extension he and the membership signed in 2022.
