Padres RHP Joe Musgrove is undergoing Tommy John surgery after a wild-card injury

Joe Musgrove will miss the NLDS for the San Diego Padres, and much more.

The right-hander will undergo Tommy John surgery after leaving a wild-card round match with a strained right elbow. Padres general manager AJ Preller told reporters Friday.

Musgrove started in the Padres’ Game 2 win over the Atlanta Braves on Wednesday, having allowed just one hit and one run while striking out four in the bottom of the fourth inning. However, his final pitch was a 75.8 mph curveball, nearly 5 mph below his season average, and Padres catcher Kyle Higashioka noticed something was wrong as he prepared to make his next pitch.

Musgrove soon left the game with a trainer. The Padres went on to win 5-4 to defeat Atlanta and advance to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS.

Without Musgrove, the Padres are left with Dylan Cease, Michael King and Yu Darvish in their rotation. Darvish was announced as a bullpen arm for the wild-card series, but expects a promotion for the longer division series. For their fourth starting position, the team could turn to Martin Perez or go for a bullpen game.

Perez posted a 3.46 ERA in 10 starts in the regular season after being acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates at the trade deadline.

Musgrove is a significant loss for San Diego. He missed much of the season due to a bone spur in his elbow, but looked like one of the best pitchers in baseball after returning in August. As of August 12, he posted a 2.15 ERA and 2.59 FIP with 57 strikeouts in 50 1/3 innings across nine starts. Batters hit .195 against him.

This will be the second straight season in which Musgrove ends the year with an injury, as he was ruled out of 2023 with a shoulder injury. He now figures to miss most, if not all, of 2025 as he recovers from Tommy John.

Despite the loss of Musgrove, the Padres believe they still have a pitching edge in the NLDS, given the extraordinary number of injuries to the Dodgers pitching staff. Clayton Kershaw, Tyler Glasnow, Gavin Stone, Tony Gonsolin, Dustin May, Brusdar Graterol and more are expected to miss the series.