The MLB season is nearly here and the San Diego Padres are still figuring out their rotation for the first week of the season. After their playoff season in 2025, the Padres will no longer feature two of their four pitchers with most innings logged last season. Dylan Cease left for a multi-year deal with the Blue Jays in free agency, and Stephen Kolek was dealt at the deadline last season in a move that landed the Padres catcher Freddy Fermín.
Additionally, the team will also be without veteran pitcher Yu Darvish, who started 15 games for the Padres last season, as he underwent elbow surgery following the season. Now, Padres manager Craig Stammen confirmed that the team will be without All-Star pitcher Joe Musgrove for the beginning of the season as he will likely start the season on the injured list.
San Diego Padres’ Joe Musgrove Status
During a Spring Training interview, manager Craig Stammen said regarding Musgrove’s status heading into the season, “He’s most likely going to start on the IL this year…this was part of the plan, we knew he was going to have to take some time off…we knew we were going to have to get him ready for the entire season, and not just Opening Day.”
While unfortunate, this news does not come as a surprise. Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune had previously said, “Every day that passes with nothing new makes it more likely Joe Musgrove likely will not begin the season on the Padres’ roster.”
Stammen had also indicated that Musgrove having a full workload was not a realistic goal this season. “Obviously, in the perfect world, he makes 35 starts for us. That’s not realistic. I think we’re just not rushing anything, being smart about it.” Stammen said.
This was a result of Musgrove’s arm not recovering well afer his exhibition start against Great Britain, which marked his first start since 2024. However, Stammen expressed optimism, saying “But still in a good spot, still something we knew was going to happen, had to prepare for. We’ve got his best interest in mind.”
San Diego Padres Rotation
As Musgrove will be out of action to begin the season, that opens up another spot on the San Diego Padres starting rotation. The rotation currently features Nick Pivetta, Michael King, and Randy Vasquez. Meanwhile, Walker Buehler, Marco Gonzales, Triston McKenzie, Germán Márquez and JP Sears are competing for the remaining two spots. Acee indicated that the current favorites for those two spots are Buehler and Márquez.
Acee wrote, “Buehler and Germán Márquez have been internally considered the leading contenders to earn the final spot in the starting rotation. With Joe Musgrove’s status for the start of the season uncertain after his surgically repaired elbow didn’t respond as well as he and the team would have liked following his start on March 4, there is a possibility both Buehler and Márquez are on the opening-day roster.”
Buehler pitched 126 innings last season with a 4.93 ERA for the Red Sox and Phillies. Meanwhile, Márquez had the worst season of his career as he finished with a 6.70 ERA across 126.1 innings with the Colorado Rockies.
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