Padres' Joe Musgrove Dealing With Setback, Appears in Danger of Missing Opening Day

San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove is taking a small pause in his progression in spring training, according to manager Craig Stammen.

Musgrove's availability for Opening Day appears to be up in the air as he gets "extra rest" while he continues his recovery from Tommy John surgery.

“Yeah I think he’s day-to-day right now. We knew this was how it was gonna be with him coming back from injury — it wasn’t just gonna be a straight shot all the way through," Stammen said of Musgrove on Tuesday. "So giving him the ample amount of rest to get him a little bit of a breather and then we’ll get him back out there."

The Padres don't have a set timeline for Musgrove's return, but the team plans on re-evaluating the right-hander each day with the start of the season quickly approaching. He last pitched on March 4 in an exhibition against Great Britain.

“We’ll see. We’ll evaluate him every single day and then make a decision after that," Stammen said.

The Padres came into spring training with three apparent locks for the Opening Day rotation in Nick Pivetta, Michael King and Musgrove. The latter two both present some injury concerns and that was never a secret, especially since Musgrove missed the entire 2025 season as he recovered from Tommy John surgery.

But the Padres also know what they have in Musgrove, as he produced a 2.15 ERA in his final nine starts of the season when he last pitched for the team in 2024.

The Padres know the right-hander could potentially anchor the rotation, and with such high expectations for Musgrove, the Padres won't push his progress as they'd rather err on the side of caution this early in the year.

As a former pitcher, Stammen knows better than most that sometimes extra rest is a necessary setback in order to properly prepare the player for a long season.

“Sometimes you just come out of a game or come out of a bullpen and it’s just a little cranky. And you’re like, ‘I need a couple extra days and just a little bit of a breather.’ Recalibrate, start all over again and get back to it. But it won’t be too long," Stammen said of Musgrove's return.

"It’s just something that I think it’s in the best interest for him and in the best interest for our team so that we can get him pitching when it matters most, and that’s when we see Playoff Joe.

"So we’re thinking about getting him through the entire season, not just getting him to Opening Day.”

The Padres are being extremely cautious with Musgrove, who has the potential to be one of the best pitchers in the NL in 2026 as he returns from Tommy John.

Reading the tea leaves, it appears Musgrove could potentially miss the start of the season, as the team knows the right-hander's health in October is of upmost importance. Making a start in April versus a start in the playoffs is completely different.

The Padres have their sights set on October and they won't be able to make a deep playoff run without Musgrove fully healthy. While Musgrove may be ready to pitch come the start of the season, that isn't the end goal for San Diego right now.

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