San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove will not pitch during the team's upcoming National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, manager Mike Shildt told reporters on Friday. Musgrove left his start on Wednesday during San Diego's Wild Card Series win against the Atlanta Braves with elbow tightness.
"I'm frustrated, I don't know what the future looks like for me right now," Musgrove told MLB.com after his early departure. "But I know I'm going to give it every chance I have, and I'll do whatever I've got to do to get back in there at some point."
Musgrove, 31, required multiple injured list stints this season because of his right elbow. When he was hearty and hale, he pitched 19 times and amassed a 3.88 ERA (106 ERA+) and a 4.39 strikeout-to-walk ratio. His contributions were worth an estimated 1.7 Wins Above Replacement, according to Baseball Reference's calculations.
Shildt did not offer details about Musgrove's potential availability beyond the NLDS. It's worth noting that Major League Baseball's rules governing postseason rosters state that if a player is on the roster -- which are finalized a few hours before Game 1 -- and must be removed during said series, then they are automatically ineligible for the following round. As such, it behooves the Padres to only have Musgrove on the roster if and when they feel confident he can get through the round without incident.
With Musgrove sidelined, the Padres will presumably proceed with a rotation that features some combination of Michael King, Dylan Cease, and Yu Darvish. Either Martín Pérez or Matt Waldron could theoretically slot into the fourth spot.
The Padres will be playing the Dodgers in the playoffs for the third time. The winner will advance to the NL Championship Series, where they'll square off against either the Philadelphia Phillies or the New York Mets.