Joe Musgrove will need Tommy John surgery and won’t be able to pitch for the San Diego Padres in the NL Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The right-handed pitcher has an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, according to A.J. Preller, the Padres president of baseball operations. Recovery from this surgery usually takes 12 to 18 months, which means Musgrove could miss all of the 2025 season.
“I’m devastated about not being able to finish what we started,” Musgrove said emotionally in the Padres dugout. “It’s just a matter of coming to grips with that this is it for me.”
Musgrove is one of many MLB pitchers who have had UCL injuries this season, including Spencer Strider from Atlanta, Shane Bieber from Cleveland, Alek Manoah from Toronto, and Eury Pérez from Miami.
“It’s rampant in our game,” said Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.
Musgrove left Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series due to elbow tightness. He had thrown two slow curveballs and fell behind 2-1 against Atlanta’s Matt Olson with two outs in the fourth inning. Pitching coach Ruben Niebla visited him, along with Padres manager Mike Shildt and an athletic trainer, and Musgrove had to exit the game.
“If you’re not a pitcher, it’s very difficult to explain. I just had a hard time getting to full extension and letting pitches go,” Musgrove said on Wednesday. “There wasn’t a whole lot of confidence behind it. I had two outs in the inning.
I was hoping to get through the inning and then deal with it afterward, but I didn’t make it to that point.”
Musgrove had been pitching with discomfort for a few weeks. The 31-year-old had two periods on the injured list due to right elbow inflammation this season, missing a total of 63 games. His second stint kept him out for 2 1/2 months. He had a 2.17 ERA over 54 innings since August 12.
“I was told back in the middle of summer that there was some damage there and that it was just a matter of time,” he said. “This seemed like something I could manage. Physically, I felt capable of throwing. It didn’t feel like anything extreme like a UCL injury, but it got a little more intense in the last few weeks.”
Musgrove mentioned that he would reach out to players who have had Tommy John surgery to learn more about the process. This surgery involves reattaching a tendon from another part of the body to the elbow.
“I don’t know when the surgery will be. I’d like to get it sooner rather than later,” he said. “I’m going to be supporting the hell out of these guys.”
Musgrove is in the second year of a five-year, $100 million contract that pays him $20 million each year from 2023 to 2027.
Losing Musgrove is a significant loss for the team. The El Cajon native is admired by Padres fans for pitching the first no-hitter in franchise history in 2021, after he was acquired in a three-team trade that January.
Preller said, “We’re definitely not here if it’s not for Joe Musgrove.”
“He’s a special individual, but I can tell you we’ll be just fine and compete,” said manager Mike Shildt. “He’ll be in our hearts but won’t be with us on the mound.”
Musgrove is also well-liked across Major League Baseball, and Roberts called his absence “a bummer.”
“Joe is not only a good pitcher, he’s a great guy,” Roberts said. “So to be at the 1-yard line as far as in this series and for him to not be a part of it, it sucks.”
The Padres will start right-handed pitcher Dylan Cease in Game 1, followed by righty Yu Darvish in Game 2. “He’s a great leader, great teammate,” Cease said about Musgrove. “He’ll be with us in other ways.”
