Guardians, San Diego Padres lineups for April 1, 2024: Game 5

The sidelined hurler will be a valuable soundboard for struggling pitchers this season

One of the low moments from the 2024 postseason was watching San Diego Padres Joe Musgrove leave Game 2 against the Atlanta Braves in the National League Wild Card Series. He exited in the fourth inning with right elbow tightness, which was later diagnosed as a torn ulnar collateral ligament (UCL).

Musgrove underwent Tommy John surgery this offseason and is expected to be sidelined for the 2025 season. It should not surprise anyone that he remains optimistic about pitching by September. The good news is that Musgrove plans to travel with the team while rehabilitating his repaired elbow. It will offer him time to counsel struggling pitchers.

Musgrove an extra pitching coach?

You may have heard the sports term of a veteran pitcher being an “extra pitching coach” for a staff searching to be more effective on the mound. Musgrove brings a different perspective of the game than Padres pitching coach Ruben Niebla because he is still an active player.

Musgrove is 37-24 with a 3.20 ERA in his four seasons with the Friars. He was the first starting pitcher to throw a no-hitter in franchise history. It was the natural progression to have him become the pitching coach of the Padres’ MLB Spring Breakout team this past March. The group took in every word spoken by the native San Diegan. His goal was to have the pitchers remain poised in anxious moments that occur in games.

During Padres broadcasts, Musgrove is frequently shown conversing with his teammates while leaning over the dugout fence. You get the impression that he loves sharing his thoughts on pitching with others. It is one of those intangible characteristics that Musgrove brings to the clubhouse each day.

Being the leader of the Padres staff brings responsibility

Being sidelined for an extended period has provided a different outlook on his role with the 2025 Friars. Musgrove will need to offer his knowledge to pitchers who are struggling to throw strikes. A new voice is valuable when a solution is nowhere in sight.

He can offer an honest assessment and helpful insight that gains an advantage on the mound. It will extend beyond the mechanics of pitching, as the right-hander can assist them in learning how to make in-game adjustments. It will keep the hitters guessing in their later at-bats and limit the number of scoring opportunities during an outing.

Musgrove takes his role as a leader of the pitching staff seriously. He loves the game, the Padres, and sharing his thoughts on pitching to a would-be pupil. What an opportunity for a pitcher to learn the game from someone of his stature! Musgrove is an incredible resource to have in-game or between appearances.

The Padres are hoping that Musgrove can help without throwing one pitch in 2025. If his contributions could advance the development of the staff, the Friars could improve on their 93-win total from last season.

Cubs Should Be in Play for This Available Padres Infielder

The Chicago Cubs should call up San Diego Padres President of Baseball Operations A.J. Preller about his newest trading piece. Eguy Rosario, a 25-year-old infielder, was DFA’d before Preller suggested that he was looking for a trade partner and felt confident in Rosario’s ability to attract suitors, according to Jeff Sanders of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Rosario, originally from the Dominican Republic, has seen limited time in the MLB during his three-year career.

He has played in seven, 11, and 30 games since 2022, with a .245 batting average, a .783 OPS, and five home runs over 317 big league at-bats. These are not Earth-shattering numbers, particularly over such a small sample size, but the right-handed hitting Rosario has demolished left-handed pitchers in his time.

In 46 at-bats against southpaws, Rosario has a staggering .348 batting average, .870 slugging percentage, 1.217 OPS, and all five career homers. He is also a versatile defender who can play all over the infield, especially at second and third base. He could provide a solid depth piece who platoons against lefties. Rosario may be redundant as the Cubs already have a right-handed utility man in Jon Berti. But Berti is 35 years old and does not possess nearly the same ceiling as the young, inexperienced Rosario.

Even if Rosario is a minor leaguer for most of the season, which feels inevitable, he would come at a cheap price and provide nothing but upside for a Chicago team desperate to make the postseason. No, he will not transform into a superstar overnight or propel them to the top of the National League Central, but he has shown flashes against MLB pitching and could be a fill-in for injuries. If the Cubs do not go after Rosario, another franchise surely will.