'A blow to our team': Musgrove needs Tommy John surgery

LOS ANGELES -- Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove's elbow injury proved significant. Not only will San Diego be without one of its best starters when facing the Dodgers in the National League Division Series, Musgrove is likely to miss the 2025 season because of a tear in his ulnar collateral ligament.

Musgrove will need Tommy John surgery to repair the tear. Recovery time from such procedures usually takes 12-18 months.

“I’m devastated about not being able to finish what we started,” Musgrove said.

Musgrove exited Wednesday’s Game 2 5-4 win over the Braves in the NL Wild Card Series in the top of the fourth inning because of elbow tightness. An MRI exam revealed the tear. Neither the 31-year-old nor the club revealed the severity of the injury.

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President of baseball operations A.J. Preller termed it as an “acute” injury. A surgeon has not yet been selected by Musgrove to do the procedure.

“Obviously, a blow to our team on the field,” Preller said. “Just as much, what he means to our group and our team, his presence every single day, he’s totally vested in the Padres organization. I see the work he’s put in with our medical team over the last few months just to get to a position where he pitched us into the playoffs, honestly. Really, a testament to him and what he’s all about.”

Even before Musgrove underwent further testing, there was already concern about his status because he’s had two stints on the injured list this season with elbow problems. That included being out from May 27-Aug. 11 with bone spurs. He underwent a PRP injection to treat the issue.

An MRI at that time did not reveal any significant problems with Musgrove’s UCL.

“Everyone’s got some tears and some damage in the UCL,” Musgrove said. “I was told back in the middle months of this summer that there was some damage there and that it was kind of a matter of time. This was something I could manage. Physically, I felt like I was capable of throwing still. I didn’t feel like anything as extreme as a UCL injury. But over the last few weeks, it was getting a little more intense.”

A 2022 All-Star, Musgrove had a 2.15 ERA in nine starts with 36 hits, eight walks and 57 strikeouts over 50 1/3 innings after returning from the IL.

“He’s thrown a lot of good baseball for the Padres in the last few years. That was probably him at his best, honestly, over the last few months,” Preller said. “He should be very proud of himself that he was able to come back and not just take the ball [but] come back and pitch us into the playoffs. We’re definitely not here if it’s not for Joe Musgrove.”

On Thursday, Musgrove worked 3 2/3 innings of one-hit, one-run ball against Atlanta. But the third and fourth innings required him to grind through pain. Finally, he threw two curveballs to Braves first baseman Matt Olson with decreased velocity. Catcher Kyle Higashioka signaled the dugout and headed to the mound before Musgrove was removed from the game by manager Mike Shildt.

“That entire fourth inning was a struggle,” Musgrove said. “I was just trying to get it over the plate and get out of the inning and re-evaluate from there. I didn’t necessarily know it was a UCL injury, but it was something I hadn’t felt before to the point where I think that’s the first time in my career that I walked off the mound.

“Going into the start, this wasn’t even a thought in my head as one of the possible outcomes. I was more concerned with the results of how I threw the ball. It’s all very sudden and drastic.”

A replacement for Musgrove on the roster, and the rotation, wasn’t immediately named but pitcher Martín Pérez appeared a probable candidate. Shildt currently has Dylan Cease starting Game 1 and Yu Darvish listed for Game 2 at Los Angeles. When the series shifts to San Diego for Game 3 on Tuesday, Michael King is the expected starter.

“Replacing Joe Musgrove is a tall order,” Shildt said. “The good news is we have people that we trust and we’ve got a deep pitching group as we know. Joe is Joe. He is a presence, a physical presence. He’s pitched outstanding for us since he’s come back. He was throwing the ball really well in Game 2 the other day. I can’t say we’re going to be able to replace Joe. He’s a special individual but I can tell you we’ll be just going to compete. He’ll be in our hearts, but he won’t be with us on the mound.”