LOS ANGELES, CA: The elbow injury sustained by Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove turned out to be serious. In addition to losing one of their top starters in the National League Division Series against the Dodgers, Musgrove is also expected to miss the 2025 campaign due to a damage in his ulnar collateral ligament. Tommy John will have to operate on Musgrove to fix the tear. After such treatments, recovery typically takes 12 to 18 months.
Musgrove left the NL Wild Card Series Game 2 5-4 victory over the Braves on Wednesday in the top of the fourth inning due to elbow soreness. The tear was discovered with an MRI. The seriousness of the injury was not disclosed by the team or the 31-year-old.
Musgrove has been placed on the injured list twice this season due to elbow issues, raising questions about his status even before he underwent additional testing. This included missing time due to bone spurs from May 27 to August 11. To address the problem, he received a PRP injection. At the time, an MRI showed no discernible issues with Musgrove's UCL.
Musgrove pitched 3 2/3 innings of one-hit, one-run ball against Atlanta on Thursday. However, he had to push through agony in the third and fourth innings. At last, he delivered two curveballs with less velocity to Matt Olson, the first baseman for the Braves. Before manager Mike Shildt pulled Musgrove from the game, catcher Kyle Higashioka gave the dugout a signal and made his way to the mound.
Pitcher Martín Pérez seemed to be a likely contender to replace Musgrove on the roster and in the rotation, however this was not immediately decided. At the moment, Shildt has Yu Darvish scheduled for Game 2 in Los Angeles and Dylan Cease beginning Game 1. Michael King is anticipated to start Game 3 of the series on Tuesday when it moves to San Diego.
Comments