The Pirates announced today that righty Joe Musgrove has undergone surgery to address the abdominal issue that bothered him late in the 2018 season. He is expected to be “on or close to a regular schedule” for the coming spring.
Musgrove’s campaign came to an early close owing to a pelvic bone stress reaction and abdominal wall strain. At the time, the decision was made to allow him six weeks of rest before the situation would be reassessed.
A recent medical evaluation showed “less than the desired amount of clinical healing,” per the Bucs’ announcement. Accordingly, a surgical course was recommended.
Clearly, the hope had been to avoid this procedure, though it seems there’s still optimism that it won’t create any near or long-term problems for the 25-year-old. While his season debut was delayed due to shoulder problems, Musgrove ended up turning in 115 1/3 innings of 4.06 ERA pitching — quality results that may still have lagged his true effectiveness (3.59 FIP, 3.92 xFIP, 3.93 SIERA).
Get well soon Joe. El Cajon, CA native. A lot of that San Diego High School baseball talent is all over the league right now. Good to see.
San Diego is well represented in the Bucs pithing staff. Musgrove, Trevor Williams and Steven Brault are all from San Diego I think.
You are correct sir.
Brault and Williams both played at Grossmont high school together in La Mesa, CA. One of the rival high schools of Helix high- the school that produced Alex Smith and Reggie Bush at the same time.
I remember some commentor complaining that he wasn’t even a top 100 prospect when he went over in the Gerrit Cole trade. good times
He’s So old! Quarter century mark! ;P
I know Musgrove was bottom half of the 80’s lower 90’s in the top 100 rankings a few years ago. He was on the radar. I remember he was lights out in the futures game at Petco Park where Bregman put on an absolute clinic. Musgrove has the body, the stuff and the mentality to be a very good quality SP for years to come.
It’s called a C-section.
Joe Musgrove is exactly what this pitching staff needed. He gets on that mound like he’s Clayton Kershaw. He’s not, but…the rest of the staff fed off that sort of brash confidence.
It’s interesting to see his peripherals, he pitched most of the year like a solid #3 pitcher, but the ERA didn’t reflect it.
He is a grinder, perfect fit for that city. Hard nosed, tough kid who plays with a chip on his shoulder. He wanted to be a part of that nucleus in Houston and is showing the people in Pittsburgh that he wasn’t just some “old prospect” flyer.
Sure hope Chris Archer is the real deal in 2019. Gave up some good talent to get him. Archer didn’t acquit himself well initially. But lots of upside if he reverts back to his previous form.
Heading into 2019, I like the starting pitching and the bullpen. Not as confident about the offense. Really need Polanco and Bell to carry the load. Probably gonna need a catcher-of-the-future at some point.. 80 wins are gonna be tough.