Sep 20, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove (44) celebrates after a strikeout to end the top of the sixth inning against the Chicago White Sox at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Joe Musgrove Says There's 'Uncertainty' Within Padres Organization

Originally posted on San Diego Padres on SI
By Maren Angus-Coombs | Last updated Feb 4, 2025 7:30 PM ET

The San Diego Padres have gone through hell this offseason and there doesn't appear to be an end in sight, even if Joe Musgrove has all the faith in general manager A.J. Preller.

Musgrove addressed the front office issues that have prevented the Padres during FanFest on Saturday.

“I mean, there’s a little uncertainty, but I think everybody here trusts A.J. (Preller),” Musgrove said. “I’ve gotten to spend a handful of years with him now, and he backs up what he says. He’s made it a point to tell us that he’s going to always do his best to put the most competitive product on the field, and he’s done nothing but that in the time I’ve been here. so I’ve got a lot of confidence in him.

"Yeah, there’s some uncertainty with what’s going on up top that really, but that’s out of our control. Regardless of who’s running the show, we’ve got a job to do as a team. And having the majority of guys that we had in the last couple of years coming back again with the same coaching staff, and the growth and the progress and the fun that we had last year is just going to continue to grow with these guys. So I’m a little more focused on that.”

Joe Musgrove said that there's some uncertainty within the org. due to the ownership lawsuit, but he has faith in AJ Preller putting a competitive product on the field. Regardless of who runs the team, the players have a job to do on the field.
— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 1, 2025

That uncertainty is what drove Roki Sasaki to the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jurickson Profar to the Atlanta Braves. The Padres also saw Kyle Higashioka sign with the Texas Rangers and Ha-Seong Kim leave for the Tampa Bay Rays.

The only big league move the Padres have made is signing Elias Dias, which doesn't have players feeling great about the 2025 offseason.

“Are we disappointed we haven’t made any moves? Yeah,” Manny Machado told the media at the team’s FanFest at Petco Park. “As a team, we do kind of look up there, and you’re a little disappointed that we let some of the guys that were (part of the) core group here go elsewhere.

"But we can’t control that, right? We control it with the group of guys that we have here, and we’re going to get ready for a long season. … Our goal is to win a championship and win the World Series. Come spring training time with the guys that we have in that clubhouse, we’re gonna go out there and we’re gonna battle.”

Despite the lack of offseason moves, the Padres return most of their starting lineup which has them feeling somewhat confident heading into spring training.