Joe Musgrove landed on the 15-day injured list over the weekend, his second such stint of the 2024 season. The Padres initially called the issue elbow inflammation. They provided more clarity this evening, announcing that an MRI revealed a bone spur (link via AJ Cassavell of MLB.com).
While there’s relief in Musgrove avoiding any ligament damage, the bone spur is going to keep him out well beyond the minimal two weeks. Cassavell writes that the former All-Star will be shut down entirely for two weeks. He could begin playing catch at that point, but that’ll likely require a multi-week build before he’s ready for a minor league rehab assignment. Musgrove conceded that he could require arthroscopic surgery if the injury doesn’t heal with rest, but that’s not currently under consideration. He recently received a platelet-rich plasma injection.
With a little more than five weeks before the All-Star Break, it seems likely Musgrove will be out into the second half of the season. His rehab process will determine whether he’s back at Petco Park before the trade deadline. The Padres are likely to look for starting pitching regardless — they’ve already been tied to White Sox breakout lefty Garrett Crochet — but Musgrove’s injury only adds to the uncertainty.
Dylan Cease, Michael King and Matt Waldron are the clear top three in the rotation at the moment. Yu Darvish landed on the 15-day IL alongside Musgrove, though it doesn’t seem that he’ll miss much time rehabbing a groin strain. San Diego recalled righty Randy Vásquez and promoted rookie Adam Mazur to step into the starting five. Vásquez carried a 5.74 ERA into tonight’s start against the Diamondbacks. Mazur made his MLB debut on Tuesday. Jackson Wolf, owner of a 5.83 ERA over 11 Triple-A appearances, is the only other starter on the 40-man roster.
San Diego’s rotation has turned in average results through the season’s first couple months. They’re 14th with an even 4.00 earned run average despite ranking fifth in MLB with a 24% strikeout rate. Darvish, Cease, Waldron and King have each allowed between three and four earned runs per nine with solid swing-and-miss numbers. Musgrove has had a disappointing season as he tried to navigate the elbow soreness. He has tossed fewer than five innings per start with a 5.66 ERA and a 20.6% strikeout rate that would easily be the worst of his Padres tenure.
that only means Tommy John!
Beats Tommy John. A rough 18 months for Musgrove.
Least they have options
Vasquez
Wolf
Mazur is up
Snelling could get a crack
But would like to see padres go get Martinez and Bader from Mets
Get a lefty starter of some sorts
Get another lefty in the pen
Before deadline is done
Still trying to navigate the CBT through ’24, but there’s a lil wiggle room for some sort of addition(s). I’d keep hugging our Top 4 farmhands but entertain all other offers. Snelling would require a permanent 40 Man spot before his call-up but I don’t disagree that we might see him sooner rather than later. Sorta kinda depends on how Wolf looks going forward. Crochet would be nice but I really JP Sears. We’ll see, shaka brah!
I’m sure Mets won’t mind paying down Martinez and Bader for a better prospect. Someone like Graham Pauley or Eguy Rosario and JD Gonzalez. Definitely think Eguy deserves an every day shot and would get one in NY with 3B open. So would Pauley.
I’d be ok moving Lesko but it’d have to be for a pitcher with lots of team control. Salas, DeVries, and Snelling are non starters for me.
On a different post I pitched Severino and Alonso because both are needed and probably would keep under the CBT (might need a little pay down) based on pro-rated salaries. I don’t think this takes a top 3 but might need Lesko. I’d be good with ER or GP being added.
Does the same thing happen in other organizations? I swear padres always downplay an injury and 9/10 it ends up being bad.
“There’s nothing to see here, keep moving!” – Frank Drebbin
A bone spur will not “heal”. It can become asymptomatic and the question is can he get through the season. He likely though will need surgery to ensure this won’t be an issue next season.
I had a bone spur on my heel/achilles. I’d say it took about 6 weeks of PT before it was good, and maybe 2 more weeks before it was gone.
Yes, it happens to the Mets all the time. Case in point: Senga.
Probably good news for Musgrove.
drchrisahmad.medium.com/what-every-pitcher-parent-…
Thanks for the read
Besides not having the ability, I don’t think I could ever commit to performing at the highest physical level possible with a cm-long, pain-managed bone spur rattling around my elbow.
Sounds like a straight up honest assessment! You’d be amazed what the body can do when it wants to though! And echoing Brew, mahalo YBC. How’s Soto doing in the field? I know he’s pretty much mashing, but what’s your take on his ABs?
Some people/players are able to go thru life/play with a large amount of pain.
When I think of a player in recent times who played an extended period with a serious injury? John Lackey, a hard nosed bulldog anyway always comes to my mind.
Fresh off a 5/75m deal, 1 season in at least, he tore his ucl in his pitching arm.. yet finished the 2016 season. Terrible numbers, worst of his career, but he never gave up and had surgery when the season ended.
How many players miss time with minor aches and pains? Call it what u will John lackey was a throwback, who took the ball every 5th day and it broke my heart when he was dealt away.
A tore tendon or ligament in an arm is not going to cause ongoing pain. It just hinders ability, when tendons and ligaments are tore you lose different types of movement which will have a clear impact on performance.
Load bearing ligaments and tendons can cause ongoing pain as the loss of movement combined with gravity and fiction leads to pain. You ll feel most tears in your knee.
As for a bone spur it is something protruding outward and presses amongst other areas. They can directly impede on a nerve which can be unbearable or cause inflammation which can also press on nerves to varying degrees.
I just have trouble labeling some players as trooperswho play through pain and view others as weaker. Most injuries are not the same and have varying impacts on the human body. So I can’t judge an individuals pain when I can’t feel it.
I have however ruptured a tendon in my hand. I had to wait 2 days for surgery, I had felt no pain. It was odd though I’d try and move my finger and it would not move but I could feel the 2 tendons to that finger moving internally, it was kinda surreal.
“…the loss of movement combined with gravity and fiction leads to pain.”
I agree. There’s very little good fiction around, and it suffers from too much gravity.
Stick with reading humor and the classics.
I just have trouble labeling some players as trooperswho play through pain and view others as weaker.
========================
I always played thru pain, and it was always, always stupid. I’d play at 80%, and my 100% was already like everyone else’s 80%, so I flat-out sucked when I tried to play hurt.
The smartest thing I’ve ever done was finally deciding to fix things instead of ignoring them.
@Joe I absolutely agree that smartest thing to do is seek treatment and fix an injury opposed to possibly making it worse.
Point I was getting at tho is not all injuries are the same. Some just limit one physically while causing little if any discomfort. Other injuries directly irritate nerves or are painful in varying ways. To compare different players playing through injury is just rather unreasonable as not all injuries have same implications.
Great read
Bone spurs don’t go away on their own.
The pain can be managed but he’ll need arthroscopic surgery eventually to remove it.
Absolutely, I came here to say this. I have bone spurs in my neck c5-down. You can manage the pain and do exercises and get it to the point where you may FEEL close to 100%, but the pain will return, it’s only a matter of time. It’s not something that you “get rid of” with rehab
@Sodo just curious what you mean when you say you have bone spurs? I chipped a disc in my neck it fused to c6 and for the most part doesn’t bother me. However if I’m driving on a long trip or sit uncomfortable for extended periods of time, I start getting radiating pain down my arm.
For me the discomfort is minimal and doesn’t impact my life in any way. So there is no way I’m having the surgery where they cut throat from the front to access the disc.
I have a bad neck. Did manual labor from ages 15 onto my early thirties. Most recent MRI (last year) said osteophytes (scientific name for bone spurs) at c5, c6, and c7. Also have canal stenosis from c3-c7. I visit a surgeon about once every 3 years to get mris to track the degeneration. He’s pretty sure I’ll need a c3-c7 fusion at some point.
I have good days and bad days but for the most part I live a normal active life. I partially like putting off the surgery as a strategy to make myself work out every day as well: cause if I miss a workout it might affect me for 2-3 days after if I make a bad move and strain a muscle or something
Have you ever tried an “iron neck?” Keeps me going, man, I don’t know what I’d do without it
I can’t believe they moved from San Antonio to Bone! Where is Bone…Nevada??
Did this sound funny in your head?
I don’t think that would sound funny in someones head.
Let’s go goose!
Just watched this team in person mail in 3 of their last 4 games. It was so frustrating watching them just go through the motions, no heart at all!! Machado is supposed to be the leader of this team and he is showing that is something he is not. Sad to see that Preller & Co. are going to take the heat for this team, but it is on the players, there is plenty enough talent to be winning games that they are not.
Sorry for the rant, not really about Musgrove situation, but had to vent!
I pretty much agree on all points, beersy… but I’ll add that, honestly, Machado has been hurt all year and you can tell it’s pulled him down- mentally. He’s in his own head rn, but he just needs his health. Tough sledding rn, all around. Cheers bub
Do yourself a favor and quit having expectations for manny . He’s been hurt struggling to be a avg player . He got hurt probably couldn’t work out with elbow in off season . He won’t be right this year I can tell . Yu X,manny now Joe all hurt atleast Tatis is hitting again .
There are 35 million reasons I have expectations for Machado. If he is not able to play, then he should be put on the IL and let someone healthy play who would put in an effort.
Poor guy. Banging on trash cans must’ve really taken a toll on his elbow.
Now he can dodge the draft like an ex president!
While I expect the padres to add a starter. They just lost their 5th game in a row. While their starters all gave them a quality start and they out hit their opponents in all 5 games.
Their biggest issue are currently two things. Not hitting with runners in scoring position and no slug or very little.
Xander out, Machado out, darvish out, Musgrove out. This team is really going to be tested the next two weeks or so.
@Simm. Yep, exactly. Losing Yu and Joe really isn’t an excuse as SP has been very solid. RISP issues continue from last year, 1 for 14 last night. And just one 20+ HR hitter. This was the part of the schedule to advance on .500 but we’re seeing the opposite. Trying to stay positive though.
Oh, man, not looking good for them making the World Series this year, as I predicted.
This is great news for the Padres. When I see pitchers go on the IL twice in a season, it is almost always a TJS setting. While you hate to lose the guy, he could easily go back to vintage Musgrove once the bone spur is eliminated.
If someone supplies me with the Xray I can have that spur out using a box cutter within the hour, get him sutured up, and he’ll be back on the hill in 3-4 weeks. But seriously, the next time you find yourself wondering if medbeds exist and work as some claim, wouldn’t professional sports team each have at least one each? Until we see that happening I have to conclude medbeds are fictional.
That should work out well in a postseason
Yeehaw!
Get it? Bone *SPURS*.
Another bad contract 100 mil given by hipster
63-61 with 3.65 era 31 years old Padre fan thinks he’s “vintage” because he’s from El Cajon