Padres News: Joe Musgrove Assesses His Injury-Riddled 2023 Season

Musgrove said he feels healthy after a spotty season.

Joe Musgrove, much like the entirety of the San Diego Padres franchise, had an unlucky 2023 season.

It started when he dropped a kettlebell on his foot and fractured his big toe, preventing him from pitching until late April. He experienced more foot-related troubles when he walked barefoot on hot turf in Mexico City, forcing him to delay a start. In addition, Musgrove overcame bursitis in his elbow while still putting together quality start after quality start.

From May 26 to July 28, the last game Musgrove started, the 30-year-old held a 1.84 ERA and a 1.00 WHIP after an abysmal start to the season.

Regardless of his peak this season, Musgrove was not able to play in August or September, when the Padres' desperation to win grew as their odds of making the postseason shrank. Musgrove was shut down officially in early August with shoulder inflammation, but says that he feels healthy now.'

"I'm going into the offseason feeling healthy," Musgrove said. "I haven't gotten on the mound yet, but it's gonna be good by the time I do it."

(Via Kevin Acee, 

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Musgrove, who typically waits until late November or early December to get back on the mound, expects to be able to continue with his normal offseason routine. 

Musgrove said that injuries were the primary reason behind his struggles this season.

"Quality when I was on the field," Musgrove said on his 2023 season. "Aside from the shoulder issue, the injuries that I had were just kind of like freak things, just weird situations that happened. ... Even the shoulder issue, I feel like that's probably something that lingered from the toe accident to the foot to the shoulder and just never really being able to put a full body of work together — like full body involved in the work."

(Via Kevin Acee,

The San Diego Union-Tribune

)

Some years are just unlucky and between the kettlebell conundrum and the strange foot-burning incident, it seems that Musgrove just had one of those seasons.

But the positives were there, and Musgrove is looking forward to a luckier 2024 campaign.

"That's the one positive, I guess, is that I still feel like I have the right program," Musgrove said. "It was just a few things I've got to be smarter and more cautious of."