Padres RHP Joe Musgrove to undergo Tommy John surgery after wild-card injury

Joe Musgrove will miss the NLDS for the San Diego Padres and a whole lot more.

The right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery after exiting his start in the wild-card round due to right elbow tightness, Padres general manger A.J. Preller told reporters Friday.

Musgrove had been cruising in the Padres’ Game 2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, having allowed only one hit and one run while striking out four by the second out of the fourth inning. However, his final pitch was a 76.8 mph curveball, nearly 5 mph below his season average, and Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka noticed that something was off as Musgrove wound up for his next pitch.

Musgrove soon exited the game with a trainer. The Padres went on to win 5-4 to sweep Atlanta and advance to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

Without Musgrove, the Padres are left with Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish in their rotation. Darvish was announced as a bullpen arm for the wild-card series but figures to see a promotion for the longer division series. For their fourth starter position, the team could turn to Martin Perez or go with a bullpen game. Perez posted a 3.46 ERA in 10 starts in the regular season after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.

Musgrove is a significant loss for San Diego. He missed a large chunk of the season due to a bone spur in his elbow but looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball after returning in August. From Aug. 12 on, he posted a 2.15 ERA and 2.59 FIP with 57 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings across nine starts. Batters hit .195 against him.

This is the second straight year that Musgrove’s season has ended due to injury, as he was shut down in 2023 due to a shoulder injury. He now figures to miss most, if not all, of 2025 as he recovers from Tommy John surgery.

Despite the loss of Musgrove, the Padres still figure to hold a pitching edge in the NLDS, given the Dodgers pitching staff’s extraordinary amount of injuries. Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Brusdar Graterol and more are expected to miss the series.