Padres' Joe Musgrove Provides Positive Injury Update, Still Eyeing April 6 Debut

Musgrove's recovery process continues to stay on par.

Even though fans of the San Diego Padres have dearly missed starting pitcher Joe Musgrove for the majority of Spring Training, it looks like they will not have to wait too much longer to see him suit up again. Before he could even really get comfortable in Peoria, the 30-year-old dropped a kettle ball on his foot and fractured his toe.

Since then, he has been on a lengthy rehab plan that he has been killing. It feels like every week we have received an update that shares something positive about him getting back to the pitching mound. Team manager Bob Melvin has said time and time again that Musgrove has been itching to increase his workload but the medical staff has been careful to avoid any setbacks.

Not too long ago, the RHP revealed that if all went well, he wanted to be playing again by April 6. The would be the Friars' seventh game of the season and he would be back without missing too much time.

When catching up with '97.3 The Fan' on Tuesday, Musgrove shared some plans for his upgraded practice tomorrow and confirmed that he is still hoping to start his season on April 6 against the Atlanta Braves.

Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove says he’s aiming for April 6th as a return date and feels it’s a realistic goal, but adds that it’s dependent on how he bounces back from starts and having no setbacks with his fractured toe: pic.twitter.com/3m8tD38Jl3

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) March 21, 2023

"I felt really good, I felt like I looked good and the numbers looked good," said Musgrove. "April 6 is what I'm shooting for. It's going to be all dependent on how I bounce back from this and making sure we don't have setbacks with the toe. Tomorrow I'll do a little sim-game, about two or three innings depending on how it feels and what they're thinking."

The Padres haven't had the best news recently when it comes to the health of their players so this is certainly a nice update. Even though they would love to have Musgrove back with Yu Darvish possibly missing the season opener, it's important that he returns to full health.

Musgrove was a huge part of a special Friars team last season as he posted 2.93 ERA with 184 strikeouts. he will look to immediately make his presence felt once again when he returns.