SAN DIEGO -- The last time Joe Musgrove took the mound for the Padres, he was pitching them into the 2024 National League Division Series. Starting Game 2 of the Wild Card Series against Atlanta, Musgrove tore the UCL in his right elbow and required Tommy John surgery, keeping him out for nearly two years.
Now, his return might come on the same stage -- on the very same Petco Park mound.
In a stunning move on Tuesday morning, the Padres added Musgrove to their Wild Card Series roster ahead of Game 1 against the Cubs on Tuesday night.
“Seeing him turn the corner the last couple of weeks, we felt good about putting him on the roster and his chances to help us win the series,” said Padres general manager A.J. Preller.
Here’s the Padres' roster in full:
- RHP (8): Jason Adam, Walker Buehler, Michael King, Mason Miller, David Morgan, Joe Musgrove, Nick Pivetta, Bradgley Rodriguez
- LHP (3): Yuki Matsui, Adrian Morejon, Robbie Ray
- C (3): Luis Campusano, Freddy Fermin, Ethan Salas
- INF (6): Miguel Andujar, Xander Bogaerts, Jake Cronenworth, Ty France, Manny Machado, Gavin Sheets
- OF (6): Jase Bowen, Dustin Harris, Austin Hays, Jackson Merrill, Fernando Tatis Jr., Samad Taylor
Musgrove is expected to pitch a limited role in relief and would presumably not be tasked with covering back-end innings, given the depth of the Padres' bullpen. Then again, it’s the postseason, so any situation in which Musgrove pitches is a big one.
“No such thing as a soft landing in the playoffs,” said manager Craig Stammen.
Musgrove was originally hopeful to return to the rotation early in the season. But he endured multiple setbacks this year. After the latest, the Padres pivoted to using Musgrove in a bullpen role.
Musgrove never formally rehabbed as a reliever, instead pitching games at the Arizona Complex League. That’s essentially the most recent data the Padres have to go off in making this decision. It’s assuredly a gamble.
“Velocity was good, stuff was good, shapes were good,” Preller said. “[Pitching coach] Ruben [Niebla] and the group signed off on it. He's going to be able to help us in any role. It's a short series, so he understands we'll see how Craig will want to use him. But he's ready to go.”
As a starter, Musgrove’s stuff mostly looked quality during his Minor League rehab outings. But he struggled to bounce back after those outings. His elbow took several days to recover from the workload; hence the move to the bullpen.
“He was able to handle that really well and recover really well,” Stammen said. “For me it was just about him being able to recover. If he could recover, I think Joe Musgrove could get anybody out.”
If nothing else, Musgrove’s inclusion is surely a major emotional boost for the Padres. He is one of the most beloved players in the clubhouse and by the fanbase. He’s a native San Diegan and a lifelong Padres fan with an interlocking SD tattooed on his biceps. The ovation during introductions figures to be raucous.
But the Padres are insistent Musgrove’s inclusion is a strategic baseball decision more than anything else. They think he can get meaningful outs at some point in the next few days.
Musgrove is one of 11 pitchers on the Padres’ postseason roster. They went heavy on the hitting side with 15 bats, to play matchups at catcher, DH and left field.
As expected, San Diego is carrying three catchers, including top prospect Ethan Salas (MLB Pipeline’s No. 21 overall) , who could become the youngest player in MLB history to catch a postseason game. Miguel Andujar is also on the roster, after missing two months with a right wrist fracture.
There's some uncertainty about what the Padres will get from Musgrove, but in a short series, they figured eight pitchers in their lockdown bullpen would be enough.
Musgrove makes the roster over Randy Vásquez (who was unlikely to be included after throwing 68 pitches in Sunday’s regular-season finale) and Wandy Peralta. Kyle Hart was optioned last week as well.
“We have a bullpen we feel like is deep and has some different weapons for Craig,” Preller said. “Then, the position players, Craig will have different looks with the three catchers and some different options off the bench. So we ended up settling on that roster construction. But there are a lot of different possibilities.”