The San Diego Padres will not include Joe Musgrove on their National League Division Series roster after the right-hander left his wild-card round start on Wednesday against the Atlanta Braves with an elbow injury.
The Padres are set to begin their NLDS series on the road against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. Right-hander Dylan Cease will start the series opener, while right-hander Yu Darvish is set to start in Game 2.
“He’ll be with us in our hearts, but he won’t be on the mound,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said of Musgrove.
While Shildt said the elbow issue will prevent Musgrove from participating in the best-of-five NLDS, he did not rule out his starter for the remainder of the playoffs if the Padres advance.
The 31-year-old San Diego-area native was 6-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 19 starts this season. In nine career seasons, the 2022 National League All-Star, is 66-62 with a 3.73 ERA in 206 appearances (180 starts) for the Houston Astros (2016-17), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-20) and Padres.
San Diego charged into the wild-card round with an MLB-best 43-20 record in the second half, while the club’s pitching staff had a 3.38 ERA after the break, fourth best in baseball.
