San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove will undergo Tommy John surgery to repair the damaged ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, general manager A.J. Preller announced Friday, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com.
“I’ve come to grips with the fact that I need the surgery. … It’s part of the risk you take when you play this game,” Musgrove told reporters, according to Sportsnet’s Hazel Mae.
Although no timetable for a return was given, the procedure will almost assuredly force Musgrove to miss most, if not all, of the 2025 season. Preller stated that Musgrove would miss “an extended portion” of next year and didn’t specify whether he’d undergo the traditional full UCL repair or the hybrid internal brace procedure.
“For him, it looks like it’s (going to be) fixing the ligament. We’ve had guys come back from that in 12 months, other guys, 14-16 months. We won’t put a hard timeframe (on it),” Preller said, per 97.3 The Fan. “Obviously he’s gotta go get the surgery, they’ll get more information after that.
“(The) biggest thing with Joe (is) he’s as hard a worker as we have in that room. … He’s obviously very committed. He’ll put himself in a great spot and be ready to come back and pitch (in) whatever that timeframe is … whether it’s the end of next season or whether the ’26 year, we’ll figure that out after the surgery.”
Musgrove left Wednesday’s start in Game 2 of the wild-card series against the Atlanta Braves after just 3 2/3 innings due to right elbow tightness. He underwent an MRI the following day.
Earlier on Friday, manager Mike Shildt revealed that Musgrove would miss the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers. The severity of the injury was revealed a few hours later.
Musgrove missed a chunk of the season due to elbow issues, but when healthy posted a 3.88 ERA, 3.96 FIP, and 1.17 WHIP with 101 strikeouts over 19 starts in 2024. He returned from the injured list in mid-August and helped get the Padres to the postseason by putting up a 2.15 ERA over nine starts down the stretch.
“We’re definitely not here if it’s not for Joe Musgrove,” Preller said, according to ESPN’s Alden González.
The 31-year-old Musgrove, who won a World Series with the Houston Astros in 2017, was acquired by his hometown Padres from the Pittsburgh Pirates before the 2021 season. In his second start with the team, he threw the first no-hitter in Padres history and made the NL All-Star team the following year.
Musgrove signed a five-year, $100-million extension with San Diego in August 2022.
His absence leaves a huge hole in the Padres’ rotation, although they likely won’t need a replacement starter until Game 4 of the NLDS. Potential options include veteran left-hander Martín Pérez, knuckleballer Matt Waldron, and rookie right-hander Randy Vásquez.
Dylan Cease and Yu Darvish will start the first two games of the NLDS in Los Angeles, while Michael King is likely to be the Padres’ Game 3 starter.
