Earlier than the Padres’ season got here to an finish with Friday’s shutout loss in Los Angeles, San Diego provided a pair of injury updates. Ha-Seong Kim and Joe Musgrove each underwent their beforehand introduced surgical procedures this week. Dennis Lin of the Athletic tweeted that Kim had a labrum restore on his proper shoulder on Friday, whereas Musgrove’s Tommy John surgical procedure was carried out on Friday.
Kim’s standing will likely be one of many larger tales of the offseason. The Padres haven’t offered a timetable for the infielder’s return. It’s not clear how a lot of subsequent season, if any, he’ll be sidelined. The surgical procedure comes at a brutal time for Kim, who is about to say no his finish of an $8M mutual choice and attain free company this winter. The defensive stalwart had an settlement for a deal of 4 or 5 years at $15M-plus yearly if he have been wholesome.
His market worth is far more troublesome to pin down now. Kim seemed like a lock to obtain and decline a qualifying supply halfway via the summer time. Except the Padres count on him to be totally recovered early within the 2025 season, they most likely gained’t make the QO. The surgical procedure raises the potential for Kim taking a shorter-term contract. That might be a straight one-year deal or, extra probably, a two-year pact that permits him to choose out after the primary season.
San Diego might want to weigh a qualifying supply choice on each Kim and Jurickson Profar. If the Padres let Kim stroll, they’ll determine whether or not to go outdoors the group for a shortstop or transfer considered one of their present gamers again to the place. The Padres used Xander Bogaerts at shortstop down the stretch. They may maintain Bogaerts there with Jake Cronenworth and Luis Arraez on the appropriate aspect of the infield. San Diego additionally has the choice of giving Jackson Merrill a have a look at shortstop, however the 21-year-old had such a improbable season in middle discipline that the Padres might not need to change his position once more. Bringing Merrill again into the infield would open a second hole to plug within the outfield alongside Profar’s potential departure.
Musgrove is underneath contract for $20M within the third season of his five-year extension. The timing of the surgical procedure means he’s very more likely to miss your complete 2025 season. Musgrove isn’t keen to already shut the e-book on the yr, nonetheless. The righty instructed reporters he’s sustaining some hope that he may contribute if the Friars make a playoff push.
“Some guys regenerate tissues quicker than others,” he stated earlier this week (via Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune). “I’m all the time going to go away room for the miracle of coming again in a loopy period of time. However listening to the tales and studying up and doing my homework and speaking with our trainers who’ve rehabbed tons of those, there’s a variety of significance in giving it the time on the entrance finish that it wants.”
The 31-year-old (32 in December) would wish an atypically fast restoration to pitch subsequent season. The usual Tommy John rehab takes round 14 to 16 months. If Musgrove have been to make a stunning return, it’d most likely briefly aid. The Padres will go into subsequent season with Michael King, Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish as wholesome starters. Martín Perez will likely be a free agent whereas Matt Waldron and Randy Vasquez profile higher in depth roles. Musgrove’s damage may lead the Padres to accumulate a number of beginning pitchers this winter.
