Padres' Joe Musgrove Experiences Pain When Throwing Key Pitch

San Diego Padres All-Star pitcher Joe Musgrove opened the season on the injured list after suffering a setback in his recovery from Tommy John surgery this spring.

It was in spring training where Musgrove first experienced discomfort while throwing his breaking ball. He decided to try and push through, but realized he had to take a step back.

“A lot of it is the confidence in the pitch because the pain is related to that specific pitch,” Musgrove said to the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee. “Like, when it’s called, I’m less likely to want to throw it because it hurts and I know it’s not a very sharp pitch. Whereas before, if I get behind in the count, I could throw four different pitches to both sides of the plate and get back in the count and control it, and I just felt in control.

“I don’t need it to be like, perfect, where like, ‘Oh, my slider is not great. I’m not gonna pitch.’ It’s just like, physically, it doesn’t feel good to throw the slider. And if I want to rip it and get big-league hitters out, like, I’ll have it for an outing and then be in bad shape. … I tried it in spring. Then I was, like, to the point where I said, ‘(Expletive) it.’ And I was just ripping them. And it was just getting worse.”

Musgrove underwent the procedure 18 months ago, which fits the typical 12-18 month timeline for a pitcher returning from Tommy John. Earlier this month, the right-hander revealed he is in the early stages of ramping back up.

The Padres All-Star hasn't thrown off a mound since March 8, where pitched in a bullpen after a March 4 exhibition against Great Britain. Since then, Musgrove has seen no action outside of playing catch.

Manager Craig Stammen hasn't provided a timeline for Musgrove's return.

“Everything’s good with Joe. We’re just taking that little breather, like we talked about," Stammen said just a few days before Opening Day. "Probably not making the beginning of the season, but we’ll have him at some point. Excited for him to get over this little hump, take a little breather and then get back at it."

Now, it's clear the pain Musgrove has felt in his elbow comes from the breaking ball he throws.

How Has Padres Rotation Performed With Joe Musgrove?

The Padres' frontline starters have pitched well enough to open the season, in spite of Musgrove's absence. Nick Pivetta has allowed eight earned runs in 13 innings, but a majority of the damage was made during his Opening Day start against the Detroit Tigers.

Michael King has done a solid job thus far, allowing six earned runs across 16.2 frames this season. Randy Vásquez has continued to impress, giving up just one run in 12 innings of work.

The back-end of the rotation isn't as sharp, with Walker Buehler struggling to pitch deep into games and Germán Márquez showing some inconsistency.

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