San Diego Padres Suffer Brutal Injury Break Ahead of NLDS Showdown

Joe Musgrove is set to miss the next year and change because of this elbow injury.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) pitches against the Chicago White Sox during the first inning at Petco Park on Sept 20. / Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Ahead of the National League Division Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers, the San Diego Padres have suffered a brutal injury break.

Per Dennis Lin, who covers the Padres for 'The Athletic:'

Joe Musgrove will undergo Tommy John surgery, A.J. Preller said.

Joe Musgrove will undergo Tommy John surgery, A.J. Preller said.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) October 4, 2024

Musgrove started Game 2 of the National League wild card series against the Atlanta Braves, tossing just 3.2 innings. Though the outing was short, Musgrove was effective, giving up just one run on one hit while striking out four.

Because of the timing of this injury, he'll be out the rest of this season and all of 2025 as well. The hope would be that he's ready to come back for the start of 2026, but even that is up in the air at this point.

This injury has to be devastating for Musgrove, who will miss out on the chance to bring a title to his hometown team. The San Diego native made his debut in 2016 with the Houston Astros before going to the Pittsburgh Pirates and then the Padres in 2021. Lifetime, he's gone 66-62 with a 3.73 ERA. He tossed a no-hitter for the Padres earlier in his career and won double-digit games in each of the last three seasons.

He was injured part of this year and went 6-5 in 19 starts.

The Padres will rely on Dylan Cease, Yu Darvish and Michael King as they navigate the rest of the playoffs. King struck out 12 Braves in a Game 1 win on Tuesday night.

Cease will open up the NLDS on Saturday night.

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