Padres Reliever Moved Into Teammate's Guesthouse for Offseason Training
The San Diego Padres swung a blockbuster trade for Dylan Cease in advance of their season-opening journey to South Korea. For the most part, however, the team is requiring on its in-house talent to make up for the talent it lost in a house-cleaning, payroll-shedding offseason.
Blake Snell, Josh Hader, Juan Soto, Seth Lugo and Michael Wacha (among others) are all gone from a Padres team that won an underwhelming 82 games in 2023.
By selectively plucking reinforcements from the major and minor-league free agent markets, and reinforcing their starting rotation only via trades, the Padres' front office sent a message to its returning players: the onus to improve on last season is on them.
To prepare for the new year, some players might have forged their own path, worked out with teammates, or trained with other players around baseball. Very few players ever train with teammates and call each other roommates.
San Diego Padres reliever Tom Cosgrove and starting pitcher Joe Musgrove fit that bill.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Cosgrove spent his offseason living in Musgrove's guesthouse and training with his elder teammate in preparation for the 2024 season:
Cosgrove moved into Joe Musgrove's guesthouse and spent much of his first offseason as a big-leaguer at Musgrove's Symbiotic Training Center and top-of-the-line resources at Petco Park and the team's new pitching lab at Point Loma Nazarene University. While his slider had more average horizontal break than anyone who threw at least 100 sliders (19.4 inches), Cosgrove is intent on adding a wrinkle to his repertoire for his sophomore season, some cut and ride on his four-seamer that will at least give hitters something else to think about this season.
"You gotta know what you do well and know what works for you," Cosgrove said.
The two became teammates in 2023 when Cosgrove was promoted to the major leagues for the first time in late April.
His 2023 season was incredible. The left-hander recorded a 1-2 record with a 1.75 ERA, 234 ERA+, 3.70 FIP, 44 strikeouts, and a 0.97 WHIP in 51.1 innings and 54 games.
The 27-year-old needed a spot to stay and a mentor to learn from; Musgrove wasn't hesitant to help a teammate out. Cosgrove had a great season and will look to continue that momentum in 2024.
Hopefully, Musgrove provided Cosgrove with a comfortable bed during the offseason.
