Even Without Joe Musgrove, Mike Shildt Believes in Padres Pitching Depth

Maren Angus-Coombs | Oct 3, 2024

Denis Poroy-Imagn Images

The San Diego Padres might have to take on the Los Angeles Dodgers without one of their pitchers.

Joe Musgrove left their Wild Card-clinching win against the Atlanta Braves at Petco Park during the fourth inning due to tightness in his right elbow. He is scheduled for additional tests on Thursday.

Given that Musgrove has already had two stints on the injured list for elbow issues this season, there's a chance this could end his season but he is going to do whatever it takes to help San Diego win.

“I’m frustrated, I don’t know what the future looks like for me right now,” said Musgrove, who had posted a 2.15 ERA in nine starts after coming off the injured list in early August. “But I know I’m going to give it every chance I have, and I’ll do whatever I’ve got to do to get back in there at some point.”

Even without Musgrove, San Diego still has a deep starting rotation.

Joe Musgrove exited the game in the 4th inning after Kyle Higashioka noticed something wrong in his windup pic.twitter.com/2nUldInUuz

— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) October 3, 2024

“Listen, pitching is going to win this time of year,” manager Mike Shildt said. “Clearly we hope to get Joe back. We'll evaluate that. But we've got pitching depth.”

Musgrove started the game appearing to be in his usual form, although he later acknowledged that he hadn’t felt right from the beginning. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowing just one hit and one run against Atlanta.

However, things took a downward turn when two of his curveballs to Braves' first baseman Matt Olson were the slowest he’s ever thrown, according to Statcast.

“From the start, it didn’t feel great,” Musgrove said. “I was capable of making pitches and felt all right. But going out for that fourth inning, nothing felt right.”

Thankfully, catcher Kyle Higashioka noticed the drop in velocity. Musgrove's curveballs typically sit in the low 80s but these two were 75.2 mph and 74.9 mph. The sudden drop in velocity triggered a mound visit to the backstop, a trainer, and Shildt.

“That was probably best for me,” said Musgrove. “I’m not the type to pull myself out of games. But he knew I didn’t feel great, and I think he noticed a change in the stuff.”

That is exactly what Higashioka noticed.

“His stuff started to deteriorate a little bit, and I could just see it in his face,” Higashioka said. “I knew he was struggling.”

San Diego native Joe Musgrove, one of the most beloved players on the Padres, could now be sidelined as his hometown team makes a push for its first World Series title.

“Hopefully, Joe’s OK,” Higashioka said. “If not, then somebody’s going to have to step up. ... Joe is irreplaceable. But this is the time of the year where the only thing that matters is winning. We’ve got to do what we can with the players that we have.”