Padres’ Joe Musgrove eyeing spring training start amid Tommy John recovery

The San Diego Padres are hoping to have starting pitcher Joe Musgrove ready for the start of the 2026 season. Musgrove will be a part of the Opening Day rotation if he is ready to go. The right-hander did not pitch in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery at the end of the 2024 campaign.

Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune reported that Musgrove could be in line for a spring training start after he pitched well in a simulated game. The start should come in about a week or so if he just pitched on Thursday. The Padres take on Great Britain on March 4th. He likely would not pitch that WBC team.

The San Diego native is one of the best pitchers in franchise history after pitching the first no-hitter in team history a few years back. There is no doubt that the rotation is better with him in it. Musgrove has had a sub-4.00 ERA since 2020. In 2024, he started 19 games and ended with a 3.88 ERA, 1.17 ERA, and 101 strikeouts in 99.2 innings.

With Musgrove back in the rotation, he should land behind Michael King and Nick Pivetta. That trio of right-handers should be the first three in the rotation when the season begins. There is a ton of depth that follows. Randy Vasquez, Walker Buehler, German Marquez, Griffin Canning, JP Sears, and Tristan McKenzie are all possible starters. Some of those names will be forced to start in the minors when the season begins.

Matt Waldron was in competition to be a starter, but he will now miss some time after having hemorrhoid surgery.

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