Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta Nowhere Near Return to Padres, Per Latest Update

The San Diego Padres are without three key pillars of the rotation early this season.

Right-hander Yu Darvish underwent elbow surgery late last year and won't be back until 2027, if he returns at all.

Right-hander Joe Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery in late 2024 and missed all of 2025. He was expected to be back for the start of this season but suffered a setback in spring training. He currently has no timetable to return.

Then there's right-hander Nick Pivetta, who went on the injured list in April with a flexor strain in his elbow. He also has no timeline to return.

On Friday, Padres president of baseball operations AJ Preller provided the latest update on the two pitchers who are expected to return this season in Musgrove and Pivetta. He didn't exactly have a promising update on them returning any time soon, though.

"Joe and Nick, they haven't started throwing yet," Preller said on 97.3 The Fan. "I know everybody's anxious, and I know everybody, especially myself, wants these guys back on the mound. But we also understand that they're working through their rehab portion of it."

"We're not talking about days or weeks with those guys in terms of them being ready to come back to Petco [Park]," Preller added. "It's going to be a process."

.@BenAndWoods asked AJ Preller for the latest update on when we can expect to see Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove return to the Padres: pic.twitter.com/avRyjrEKWz
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) May 15, 2026

Musgrove last pitched in 2024, when he made 19 starts as he battled elbow issues all year, sporting a 3.88 ERA over 99.2 innings.

In his last full season in 2022, he made the All-Star team and had a 2.93 ERA across 30 starts.

As for Pivetta, he broke out in his first year with the Padres last season, accruing a 2.87 ERA over 31 starts with 190 strikeouts over 181.2 innings. He had a 4.50 ERA over four starts before going on the IL this year.

While it's going to be a while before either pitcher returns, Preller did at least have somewhat positive news regarding each pitcher's progression as of late.

"They had a really positive last week [to] 10 days, [starting] to feel in a good place," Preller said. "I think that starts moving the needle on them throwing. But when they start playing catch, they'll have a buildup that will take some time, and then they'll start getting into bullpens and eventually games."

Neither Musgrove nor Pivveta seem like they'll be ready until July at the earliest, considering the buildup they'll need once they start a throwing progression.

Each pitcher will have to throw off a mound, then start doing bullpen sessions and then move to live batting practice before going on a rehab assignment that will likely be at least four or five starts.

It seems more likely both players return after the All-Star break — but even then, Preller doesn't want to rush anything.

"I think the biggest thing for us is, again, these are not black and white in terms of the medical process on where these guys are at. It's kind of an individual basis, and we've made the decision with both of those guys that we're probably being more conservative, feeling like more time is better than less," Preller said.

"If we're getting them back pitching meaningful games down the road, if that's June, July, we're comfortable with that. So that's kind of the way we've gone about it, from the advice of our medical team and also just looking at the long season and what it all looks like for us."

For now, the Padres rotation will continue to be headlined by Michael King and Randy Vásquez, with new additions Griffin Canning, Lucas Giolito and Walker Buehler rounding things out.

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