Padres Get More Bad News on Joe Musgrove as 2026 Return is Suddenly in Jeopardy

The 33-year-old right-hander feels like he's ready to pitch big league games, but there's a catch.

San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) leaves the game during the fourth inning of game two in the Wildcard round for the 2024 MLB Playoffs against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park on Oct. 2, 2024. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

Joe Musgrove feels like he's ready to take the mound in a game for the San Diego Padres. That's the good news.

The bad news? Neither he nor the team are sure how long it would take his right arm to recover from his first appearance in an MLB game since October 2024, when he underwent Tommy John surgery on his right elbow.

"Anything is on the table as far as recovery goes, and how often he pitches, and how much he pitches," manager Craig Stammen told reporters. "So I think everything’s being reassessed on a daily basis. … think part of this process is just hopefully, like, keeping him going, keeping him pitching, keeping him throwing, and then hopefully that recovery timeline gets a little smaller."

Friday in San Diego, Musgrove spoke at length about the problem he's trying to solve before the season is over.

"Something about high-intensity throws is just not allowing me to play catch for a couple days," Musgrove said. "As good as I felt a couple starts ago, not necessarily in the same place. I don’t think I’m a wrap for the year. We’re just trying to look at some different options of either shorter appearances or different theories. I mean, really, I’m running out of answers."

The Padres could use Musgrove as a reliever or an opener to limit his pitch count. But even that would require a trial-and-error process with few certainties.

Musgrove is under contract this season and next for $20 million. When healthy, he's been able to deliver on the potential that led the Padres to give him a five-year, $100 million contract extension in August 2022.

The El Cajon native is 37-24 with a 3.20 ERA in 98 games (97 starts) since joining the Padres. He's started four postseason games in that span — more than all but three pitchers in franchise history.

If Musgrove can make another postseason appearance for the Padres, even in a short outing, Stammen said Friday, "I think we'd all take that."

“What we’re hoping to find out is, is it throwing in general or is it the volume of throwing that’s causing the problems?" Musgrove said. "I felt very similar throughout the course of all these games. I felt pretty good. My stuff shows. I’ve been in the zone throwing strikes. Good velocity on my pitches. Commanded them all. Just something about the day after has been to the point where I just can’t pick up a ball to throw.”

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