Padres Manger Says To 'Temper' Excitement on Nick Pivetta, Joe Musgrove

Over the last few weeks, the San Diego Padres have been gearing up for the potential returns of both Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta to the starting rotation.

Each pitcher has been dealing with an elbow injury, keeping them out of the lineup. But after long recovery processes, the Padres have been expecting them to help bolster the rotation.

However, manager Craig Stammen cautioned expectations in terms of a return for the two right-handers.

“You’re testing them every single time,” Stammen said. “That’s why when we were talking about this a couple weeks ago. … Temper the excitement a little bit because there’s a lot of boxes to check before they’re back pitching in the big leagues.”

Nick Pivetta Leaves Rehab Appearance After 14 Pitches

The two starters had their first rehab outings on Tuesday, but had very different results. Pivetta abruptly walked off the mound after throwing 14 pitches in a concerning scene.

An update from Lake Elsinore.

Nick Pivetta walked off the mound after throwing a pitch and went straight to the dugout. pic.twitter.com/qdpo3eGHZ9
— Sammy Levitt (@SammyLev) August 4, 2026

Fortunately, Pivetta was able throw 20-30 pitches in the bullpen afterwards, but the Padres are waiting to see how he feels on Wednesday.

It's possible Pivetta just suffered a minor scare and is able to get back and continue his rehab. It's also possible he suffered a setback and could be done pitching for the year.

Joe Musgrove Shines in Rehab Outing

As for Musgrove, he put together a solid rehab appearance for the Padres. The right-hander completed 2.2 innings and threw 39 pitches.

Musgrove has been out since October 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery that forced him to miss all of 2025. But following the performance, Musgrove was happy with the results.

“Good. I think big checkmark is just getting in there, getting in the pace and the tempo of a normal start. Kind of getting your times back in line, getting comfortable being on the mound with the pitch clock, obviously having hitters in the box," Musgrove said to reporters. "So checked off a lot of things, physically feel great. So, yeah, good day.”

"A good day." #Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove on his rehab start for @Storm_Baseball @FriarTerritory pic.twitter.com/odA0qn5Ea2
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) August 4, 2026

If all goes well for Musgrove, he'll likely make a few more rehab starts before returning to the Padres lineup. The veteran could provide a nice spark to the team in the final few weeks of the regular season.

How Do Trade Deadline Moves Impact Padres' Rotation?

While the state of both Pivetta and Musgrove remains unknown, the Padres did acquire multiple pitchers at the trade deadline.

Right-hander Casey Mize and left-hander Robbie Ray are expected to give the starting rotation a boost, giving San Diego some extra leeway with the injured pitchers. The Padres make it a point to land starting pitching help, with the knowledge of uncertainty surrounding Musgrove and Pivetta.

“I think that was the reasoning behind what A.J. [Preller] did,” Stammen said. “We don’t really know what Joe and Nick will be able to provide. We hope that they’re Joe Musgrove and Nick Pivetta that we’ve watched for a long time, but it’s just hard to predict what could happen.”

For now, the Padres will take precautions with both Pivetta and Musgrove, allowing each enough time to heal. But the trade deadline acquisitions, at the very least, should help the Padres look to make a late-season postseason run with a much better rotation leading the way.

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