San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove experienced arm soreness after his latest rehab outing and his return from Tommy John surgery in October 2024 has been delayed again.
Musgrove pitched five innings and threw 60 pitches for Triple-A El Paso last Thursday and gave up just one run and five hits. But his arm didn’t bounce back well, so the Padres kept him from his usual bullpen session after a start.
“Joe’s not — you can probably tell from the last start, how many days ago it was — he’s just not recovering as quick as he would like,” Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters. “But he’s able to recover eventually.”
Musgrove also had health issues after his previous start on Aug. 14. He gave up five runs and nine hits over 4 2/3 innings in that contest, then needed 12 days of rest before starting again.
Overall, Musgrove is 1-1 with a 4.60 ERA in four rehab starts — the first for Class A Lake Elsinore and the last three for El Paso. He has struck out 13 and walked three in 15 2/3 innings, but has allowed 22 hits.
Musgrove, 33, underwent surgery in Oct. 2024 but endured a major setback during spring training. Still, he was confident he would return this season.
But San Diego has just 22 games remaining and sits a half-game behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final National League wild-card berth. That doesn’t leave much time or competitive leeway for Musgrove to make an appearance for the Padres this season.
“Everything’s being reassessed on a daily basis,” Stammen said. “When you add somebody to the roster, somebody goes off the roster. Joe’s got to feel comfortable that he can help our team win. He wants to help our team win. He doesn’t just want to pitch.”
When he pitched in 2024, Musgrove was 6-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 19 regular-season starts. He was pulled in the fourth inning of a wild-card game against the Atlanta Braves on Oct. 2, 2024, and diagnosed with a torn UCL two days later.
Over nine seasons with the Houston Astros (2016-17), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-20) and Padres, Musgrove is 66-62 with a 3.73 ERA in 206 appearances (180 starts).
The Padres had more optimistic news on Opening Day starter Nick Pivetta’s elbow. Pivetta is on a rehab stint for the Padres and the right-hander hopes to get back before the end of the season. He is 0-0 with a 3.38 ERA in two appearances (one start) for Lake Elsinore and one start for El Paso but has pitched just eight innings.
Pivetta, 33, was hurt in his fourth start of the season, leaving the game while pitching to the leadoff batter in the fourth inning against the Colorado Rockies on April 12. He is 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA.
In 2025, Pivetta was San Diego’s best pitcher and posted career bests in wins (13), ERA (2.87), WHIP (0.99), innings (181 2/3) and strikeouts (190).
Overall, Pivetta owns a 70-78 record with a 4.47 ERA in 258 appearances (213 starts). He has pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies (2017-20), Boston Red Sox (2020-24) and Padres.
To shore up their rotation, the Padres traded for San Francisco Giants left-hander Robbie Ray and Detroit Tigers right-hander Casey Mize at the deadline.
