Padres' Joe Musgrove Headed To Injured List To Begin 2026 Season

[Steve Drumwright]

The first significant blow to the San Diego Padres' Opening Day rotation became somewhat official as first-year manager Craig Stammen said Monday that right-hander Joe Musgrove will begin the season on the injured list.

Musgrove, the Padres' best pitcher when healthy and author of the first no-hitter in franchise history, has not pitched since having Tommy John surgery after the Friars were eliminated from the postseason in 2024. The 33-year-old had been building toward a spot in the rotation to begin the season, but made just one appearance, a start against Great Britain in a World Baseball Classic exhibition on March 4.

He needed 60 pitches to get through two innings in his first game action since Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series vs. Atlanta in 2024. Musgrove's arm didn't bounce back, and he has not pitched since.

"He’s most likely going to start on the IL this year," Stammen said. "We're getting to the point where he's taken enough time off that it would be hard to ramp him up to get him to be a viable starter that can throw five innings, 90 pitches. This was part of the plan. We knew he was going to have to take some time off. We knew we were going to have to get him ready for the entire season, and not just Opening Day."

That leaves the Padres' rotation with three known starters: right-handers Nick Pivetta, Michael King, and Randy Vasquez. Pivetta returned to action Saturday after skipping a start due to arm fatigue. Pivetta pitched three innings, throwing 56 pitches, against the Cleveland Guardians. He would have one more Cactus League start, potentially Thursday or Friday, before the season begins. He was the top candidate for the Opening Day start entering camp.

The Padres do have options to fill the void with Musgrove starting on the IL. Those begin with right-handers German Marquez and Walker Buehler. Buehler is a non-roster player, meaning he would have to be added to the 40-man roster before Opening Day. The Padres have one confirmed spot open and another with Yu Darvish not pitching this season.

Stammen said he was not ready to name the slots for his starting pitchers yet. One option for the Friars, with two days off in the first eight days of the season, is to open with four starters and nine relievers.

"We'll probably pick spots probably the day before Opening Day," Stammen said. "We'll wait all the way until we have to make a decision. I think it's probably smart to wait as long as you can to make decisions because you never know what can happen in between that time period. We're going to be smart, we're going to be patient, and we're going to try to make the best decision with all the information."

The setback is likely to sideline Musgrove for most, if not all, of April. Another right-handed starter, Griffin Canning, is expected back in April as he continues to recover from an Achilles injury last season, when he was with the New York Mets.

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