The San Diego Padres began their home series with a loss against the St. Louis Cardinals despite a strong pitching performance out of Michael King.
Prior to the 2026 season, the Padres top of the rotation was projected to feature King alongside opening day starter Nick Pivetta and Joe Musgrove, who was set to return from injury after missing the entire 2025 season following elbow surgery.
Unfortunately, Pivetta made only four starts before having to go on the injured list, and Musgrove did not recuperate well following his first spring training start and has yet to begin ramping back up.
San Diego Padres Announce Joe Musgrove News
Prior to the first game of the series against the Cardinals, the San Diego Padres announced that Joe Musgrove was transferred from the 15-day injured list to the 60-day injured list.
Regarding the move, The San Diego Union-Tribune’s Kevin Acee wrote via X: “Procedural move with Musgrove. The 60 days is retroactive to when he was placed on 15-day IL before season. He wasn’t coming back sooner than that anyway.”
Musgrove has not had a fully healthy season since 2022, as he fell short of 100 innings pitched in 2023 and 2024. Despite his lingering health issues, Musgrove has been effective when he has been on the mound as he has a 16-8 record and a 3.47 ERA since 2023. At this point it seems unrealistic to expect Musgrove to pitch over 100 innings in the 2026 season, as he would still need a few rehab starts before returning to the Padres.
Fortunately, the Padres rotation is expected to have the boost of Lucas Giolito soon. However, Padres fans will hope Giolito performs better than he has in his rehab outings. In his three rehab outings, Giolito has a 6.55 ERA. However, he has struck out 12 batters in 11 innings.
Padres vs Cardinals
Aside from Giolito, the Padres rotation already received a boost as Griffin Canning appeared in San Diego’s rotation for the first time on Sunday. Despite having a pitch limit, Canning was able to pitch five innings while allowing only one run. He is set to make his second start of the season against the Cardinals on Friday.
“I think this is what we expected when we signed him — that he had the potential to be someone that we could rely on and count on and get quality starts consistently through the season,” Stammen said of Canning’s first outing. “… He’s coming off a major injury. There’s bound to be hiccups. But he’s off to a good start, and we feel very confident about him going forward.”
Regarding the difference of a Padres rotation featuring Canning and Giolito, Padres beat writer AJ Cassavell wrote:
“Canning and Giolito raise the floor of this rotation in a notable way. The trio of Germán Márquez, Walker Buehler and Matt Waldron have combined to post a 6.45 ERA this season.
Buehler has recently begun to show promise as a No. 5 starter-type. He’s notched a 3.93 ERA across his past four starts. But Buehler shouldn’t be counted on as the Padres’ third best starting pitcher.
That’s why the Padres signed Canning and Giolito in the first place. They knew their rotation was on shaky ground. They figured it might need some reinforcements in the event of an injury or two. They weren’t wrong.”
Padres Announce Joe Musgrove News During Cardinals Series