Padres News: Joe Musgrove Scratched From Wednesday’s Start With Shoulder Injury

The timing could NOT be worse.

After a flurry of deadline moves to bring some new pieces to San Diego, one Friars player unfortunately will be on the mend in the near future.

In a tweet from Dennis Lin of the Athletic, it was reported that Padres starter Joe Musgrove was scratched from his next scheduled start on Wednesday against the Rockies in Colorado. 

Joe Musgrove, who was scheduled to start today, is experiencing some right shoulder soreness. The Padres expect to push him back at least a couple days. Nick Martinez will start in his place.

— Dennis Lin (@dennistlin) August 2, 2023

Given the Padres' current standing in the division, Musgrove's absence could prove costly to the team's chances at a postseason run should this be a long-term issue. 

Sitting at two games under .500, the Padres still believe in their core after making several additions at the deadline to boost their chances to see playoff baseball at Petco Park this season. 

With Michael Wacha still on the shelf with his own arm issue, it became even more important that the Padres acquired Rich Hill from Pittsburgh on deadline day to keep some rotation depth. 

In addition to Hill, first baseman Ji-Man Choi was also traded for in the deal from the Pirates to signal that the Padres were not selling this year. 

Many thought that selling would be the best option for the underwhelming record relative to their payroll. 

GM AJ Preller refused as the team getting a Cy Young caliber season from Blake Snell and a lack of enticing prices for both Snell and impending free agent closer Josh Hader convinced the Padres brass to go all in. 

Also joining the hitting ranks in San Diego was Garrett Cooper from the Marlins for pitcher Ryan Weathers and in the bullpen the Padres added Scott Barlow from the Kansas City Royals to close a busy deadline day. 

With stars littered across the roster and these new additions, any setback like Musgrove's is not ideal for a team that was just in the NLCS last year. The Friars can only hope that this isn't a long-term issue from one of their best arms.