What Can Padres Expect From Joe Musgrove In Return From Injury?

Valentina Martinez | Aug 12, 2024

May 26, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) throws a pitch in the first inning against the New York Yankees at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports / David Frerker-USA TODAY Sports

As the San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove makes his first appearance on the mound since May 26, his pitch count will be limited on Monday.

Musgrove is set to make his comeback against the Pittsburgh Pirates. His return is rather timely, given the Padres are in the midst of snagging the National League West lead from the Los Angeles Dodgers.

San Diego is just 3.5 games behind the Dodgers. Therefore, every game is a must-win. The return of a high-leverage arm to the rotation is good news for the Padres.

“I’m in a really good place,” Musgrove told Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune. “It’s been difficult to sit by for this long. But I understand where I was with the injury, where the team was at the time, and where I could bring the most value, and that’s getting healthy and being able to pitch down the stretch. So it was a tough decision to go into it, but once we were in it, we had a very clear idea of what we wanted it to look like and when we wanted to be back, and everything’s pretty much gone to play. And so I feel like I’m as ready as I’ve ever been. Physically. I feel great. My Stuff feels great. Just ready to go out there and compete.”

Musgrove will likely pitch through only four or five innings on Monday. Though the right-hander returns in a limited capacity, an additional healthy arm will aide San Diego in the grueling schedule ahead for the remaining half of August.

Musgrove's latest bullpen sessions saw increased velocity on his pitches, a sign that the 31-year-old is making a good recovery from his elbow injury.

Musgrove has a 5.66 ERA through 10 starts this season. From 2021-23, his 3.05 ERA ranked sixth-lowest in MLB among pitchers who had thrown at least 400 innings.

The return of the right-hander gives the Padres a slew of options for their pitching rotation. San Diego went most of July using a four-man rotation.

August could see the Padres' rotation get another big boost.

Yu Darvish remains on the restricted list due to a private family matter, but he was seen throwing a live bullpen at a local high school in San Diego on Sunday, according to The Athletic's Dennis Lin. The bullpen session points to a possible return for yet another key pitcher in the San Diego rotation.