Why the Padres Are Betting on Joe Musgrove in the Wild-Card Series
Joe Musgrove hasn't pitched in an MLB game in two years. That did not stop the Padres from putting him on the roster for the wild-card round, and the decision says a lot about how far he has come in his recovery.
The San Diego native and Grossmont High School graduate last pitched in a big-league game when he started a wild-card contest at Petco Park and exited with an elbow injury. The injury required Tommy John surgery, and the procedure cost him the following season completely.
His return was not smooth. While trying to build back up as a starter this season, Musgrove dealt with multiple setbacks. The turning point came when the team shifted him into shorter stints. Working in bursts, rather than stretching out for a starter's workload, changed how he recovered between outings. That version of Musgrove — a reliever rather than a starter — earned him a place on the Padres' 11-man pitching staff.
A roster spot in a playoff series is valuable, and the Padres made clear who they were willing to leave off. Randy Vásquez and Griffin Canning were not included even though they combined to cover all nine innings in the regular-season finale. Wandy Peralta was left off as well, meaning the club kept only three left-handed pitchers: Adrian Morejón, Yuki Matsui and Robbie Ray.
That is the risk in one picture. The Padres chose Musgrove over a pitcher who had just shown he could handle a full game, and over another bullpen option who might have given them a different matchup advantage. The upside is also easy to see. A short series can turn on one appearance, and Musgrove has the kind of history in San Diego that gives the move an emotional weight most roster decisions do not carry.
No one knows how this will play out. Musgrove has not faced major-league hitters in two years, and his recent work came in abbreviated appearances, not in the pressure of a one-run postseason game. He might be used in a lower-stress situation, or he might not pitch at all. Either way, the Padres have decided the potential reward is worth the uncertainty.
That is the nature of a wild-card roster. Every spot is a bet, and the Padres just placed theirs on a hometown pitcher months removed from his last setback, hoping his arm has one more October story in it.