Padres News: Joe Musgrove Odds of Returning This Season ‘Aren’t Good,’ He Says

The Friars' top pitcher may be running out of time on a return...

The Friars season is wrapping up and with little to no chance at making the postseason, top Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove may be the next starting pitcher shut down for the year.

With Yu Darvish being shut down for the year due to the bone spur recently found in the veteran's elbow, Joe Musgrove is now the next possible pitcher who may be running out of time for a 2023 return.

"I'm still in the day-to-day approach of just continuing to follow the program that they laid out [where] as we got down to the last week of the season, matching how I'm feeling up with the standings and go from there," Musgrove added. "But now, it's getting clearer by the day that we're running out of time, and the odds of us getting there aren't good."

(via MLB.com)

Musgrove has been on the injured list since August 4th due to shoulder inflammation and it seems that the injury is lingering longer than he hoped.

In 2023, Musgrove tossed 97.1 innings with an ERA of 3.05 and a 2 WAR. The 30-year-old pitcher was looking to complete his third straight season of starting 30 or more games with the Padres but the injury bug caught him before completing the year.

With little to no shot at making the playoffs now, the Padres and Musgrove may come to the conclusion that it is smarter for the pitcher to just rest and prepare for the 2024 season.

Risking injury for possible meaningless games does not have a good outcome for either side.

Musgrove might look to join Darvish in the recovery party as the team will carry big expectations into the 2024 season.