Joe Musgrove Felt Like He Let Padres Down Amid Grueling 2-Year Rehab

“I still feel like it’s somewhat within reach. I think the doctors are going to tell me no. … But most realistic would be a chance to come out of the bullpen somewhere late in the postseason."

San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove told the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee back in April 2025 that his goal, albeit miraculous, was to come back from his October 2024 Tommy John procedure in time for the Padres 2025 postseason run.

Regardless of the many hurdles and setbacks Musgrove went through — and to say that there were plenty of obstacles would be a severe understatement — the pitcher born about 15 miles away from the stadium he so desperately tried to get back to continued to put in the work necessary to position himself to help his team as soon as possible.

Fast forward to Tuesday, an evening that was already among the more memorable in Padres history as they were towards the end of an 8-0 rout of the Chicago Cubs, Musgrove jogged out of the bullpen to close out the ninth inning in front of a raucous Petco Park crowd.

After 727 days, Musgrove was back.

Despite the arduous journey he went through to strike out two batters in a scoreless ninth inning, the veteran still felt like he was letting his team down for simply being injured.

He told reporters after his return that part of the mental toll of a recovery that took as long as his was that these thoughts started to echo into spirals that forced Musgrove to focus on what seemed like the only elements that he was in full control off: the work and the effort.

“I've been through a lot of a lot of headaches and a lot of negative thoughts over the last year and a half," Musgrove said. “You know, a lot of it's self-inflicted. I get into these ruts of just feeling like I'm letting people down, and I'm not holding up my end of the deal.

“But you know, the work and the effort I'm putting in is really all I can control."

The setbacks in question dated back to spring training, when both Musgrove and the Padres fanbase assumed he would return to the mound to kick off the 2026 campaign. Finally, even when it seemed like Musgrove was ready to return earlier this month, his recovery after throwing sessions still wasn't up to speed, especially for an imminent postseason run.

The reason why some Tommy John recoveries are faster than others may not ever be clearly defined, but Musgrove's return to the team on Tuesday was something that not even he could have expected, despite visualizing his return for the better part of the last two years.

“I had been visualizing this and going through it in my head," Musgrove said. “So I expected it to get a little loud and people to be excited. But I didn’t expect quite that crazy of a mound."

Though Musgrove delivered in an all-time moment for the Padres, his return helped secure win No. 1 of 13 in this year's postseason. The end of his personal recovery journey coincided with one that has just started for San Diego, and one that seemingly the entire roster looks hungry to achieve.

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