SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres have acquired right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for outfielder Hudson Head, left-handed pitcher Omar Cruz, and right-handed pitchers David Bednar and Drake Fellows. As part of the agreement, the Padres will send left-handed pitcher Joey Lucchesi to the New York Mets, and the Pirates will receive catcher Endy Rodríguez from the Mets, Executive Vice President/General Manager A.J. Preller announced today.

Musgrove, a native of El Cajon, Calif., made eight appearances in 2020 (all starts) and went 1-5 with a 3.86 ERA (17 ER, 39.2 IP) with 55 strikeouts to just 16 walks. The Pirates’ Opening Day starter led the Pittsburgh pitching staff in strikeouts, held opponents to a career-best .226 (33-for-146) average, and among all pitchers who made eight-or-more starts, his 68.3 first-pitch strike percentage ranked second behind LAD’s Clayton Kershaw (69.7 %). Though he claimed his sole win of 2020 in his last start of the season on September 26 at Cleveland, Musgrove received just 12 runs of support in the campaign, the fewest of any National League pitcher who made eight-or-more starts. The right-hander fanned a career-high 11 batters on September 20 vs. STL and became the first Pirates pitcher to have back-to-back starts in the same season with at least 6.0 IP, zero runs and 10-or-more strikeouts. Musgrove finished the season with 16.0 consecutive scoreless innings, the longest such streak on the team and tied for the sixth longest in the National League.

In 108 career games (83 starts), the 28-year-old veteran is 29-38 with a 4.33 ERA (239 ER, 496.2 IP) and 465 strikeouts between the Houston Astros (2016-17) and Pirates (2018-20), including a 3.27 ERA (31 ER, 85.1 IP) in 15 appearances (14 starts) versus NL West opponents. Since making his Major League debut in 2016 with the Astros, Musgrove has the 12th-lowest BB/9 IP (2.21) and 14th-best SO/BB ratio (3.81) among right-handers who have made at least 80 starts. A 2017 World Series Champion, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound righty has made seven Postseason appearances (all in relief) for a 1-0 record and 8.10 ERA (6 ER, 6.2 IP). Musgrove has gone 2-0 in his two-career appearances at Petco Park (both starts) with a 2.03 ERA (3 ER, 13.1 IP), and he pitched a perfect first inning for the USA team in the 2016 All-Star Futures Game in San Diego. Originally signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a 1st-round selection (46th overall) in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of Grossmont High School, Musgrove grew up in El Cajon and attended Padres games at Jack Murphy/Qualcomm Stadium and Petco Park.