San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove is expected to begin the 2026 season on the injured list after a slow recovery from his March 4 spring training return.

Musgrove missed the entire 2025 season following Tommy John surgery and made his comeback in an exhibition game against Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic team in Peoria, Arizona, during the first week of March. He pitched just over two innings, striking out three and allowing a run on five singles, with a fastball that reached 95 mph.

“I’ve talked to a lot of guys that say they don’t feel normal or back to themselves until about that two-year mark,” Musgrove said after the outing. “I’m just taking the ball every fifth day and seeing how I recover and adjust as we go.”

Musgrove has not thrown a baseball since that exhibition. Padres manager Craig Stammen told reporters Monday that the right-hander is expected to be on the IL when San Diego opens its season on March 26 at home against the Detroit Tigers.

In his last season in 2024, Musgrove went 6-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 19 starts. He was pulled early from a wild-card game against the Atlanta Braves on October 2 and diagnosed with a torn UCL two days later.

Over nine Major League seasons with the Houston Astros (2016-17), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-20), and Padres, Musgrove has a 66-62 record with a 3.73 ERA in 206 appearances, including 180 starts.

—Field Level Media/Reuters