The San Diego Padres won't call it a setback, but key starter Joe Musgrove is now on hold as Opening Day draws closer.
The San Diego Padres got some problematic pitching news yesterday regarding key starter Joe Musgrove, as it’s looking like Musgrove won’t be ready to go for Opening Day on March 26 against the Houston Astros, according to Manny Randhawa of MLB .com.
Musgrave’s last start was back on March 4 in an exhibition game against Great Britain, and yesterday manager Craig Stammen declared that Musgrove is “in a bit of a holding pattern” right now as he continues to come back from Tommy John surgery.
“We’re waiting to try and get over that hump, feel a little better before we start doing anything out on the field,” Stammen said.“But [he’s] still in a good spot. It’s still something we knew was going to kind of happen and that we had to prepare for. And we’ve got his best interests in mind.”
This is getting closer to a worst-case scenarios for the Padres, who entered spring training with an already thin rotation. Erstwhile ace Nick Pivetta hasn’t started yet due to what Stammed called “arm fatigue,” which may or may not be the same as a “holding pattern.”
The Padres’ other top starter, Michael King, is also coming off an injury-riddled season last year, so the San Diego rotation is starting to look like a list of cast-offs.
The list of possible fill-ins includes Walker Buehler, Marco Gonzales, German Marquez, Triston McKenzie or JP Sears, and Marquez got blasted by the Kansas City Royals yesterday, giving up six earned runs, four hits and four walks in the Padres’ 10-1 loss. He threw just 28 strikes in 56 pitches, which was a huge problem.
“I wasn’t executing my pitches,” Márquez said. “I wasn’t getting out in front [in the count] and my fastball was running, pulling.”
The Padres were pulling for Marquez to make a full recovery from his Coors Field history with the Colorado Rockies, which was actually solid initially before elbow problems caused him t miss most of the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
But that’s not happening so far, and the clock is ticking. It’s time for someone to step up with just under two weeks to go before the Padres break camp, but Marquez didn’t sound all that stressed out about yesterday’s outing.
“No, I don’t feel pressure,” he said when asked about the Spring Training hour glass getting bottom-heavy. “I’m gonna go out there and do my thing. I’m gonna give my best. … I feel like tonight was a night that anybody can have. So I’m gonna show up in my next outing and I’m gonna keep working.”