Padres will be paying the price for not extending Musgrove
Credit: AP Photo
San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Joe Musgrove is off to a fantastic start in his 2022 campaign.
Some might say he is off to a “quality” start, as Musgrove leads all pitchers with quality starts at eight, one in each start.
Musgrove, a San Diego native, makes it very clear to the media and fans that he wants to be a Padre going forward. However, Musgrove is an impending free agent, and as he continues to put together great and quality starts, he is getting more and more expensive.
Whether it's Joe Musgrove & Francisco Cervelli organizing a team event in Pittsburgh or Eric Hosmer arranging a team dinner on the road, @itsFatherJoe44 says #Padres are doing things they didn't do last year, plus Hosmer's impact & Clevinger's returnhttps://t.co/Kql1SR3KOW pic.twitter.com/yA4G3Yf5Db
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) May 13, 2022
According to multiple reports and Musgrove himself, there were talks between he and the Padres’ front office about an extension. As we know now, the two sides did not reach an agreement, and his value is going nowhere but up at the moment. He wanted to focus on the season and helping the Padres win, so extension talks stopped once games began.
Senior Writer for The Athletic and MLB on FOX reporter Ken Rosenthal said that Musgrove turned down an eight-year deal for upwards of $80 million during the broadcast of his seven shutout inning start over the Giants Saturday.
Joe Musgrove, Sean Manaea, and Mike Clevinger are all eligible for free agency at the end of this season.@Ken_Rosenthal has more on the Padres FA situation ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/3MN0NuNe7v
— FOX Sports: MLB (@MLBONFOX) May 21, 2022
Through eight starts, Musgrove boasts a 1.90 ERA and 0.94 WHIP in 52 innings. All three of those marks are inside the top four in the National League. It is completely reasonable to assume that Musgrove will be representing his hometown in Los Angeles at 2022 all-star game.
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Pitching will be in high demand this offseason like it is every year, and Musgrove is trending towards becoming potentially the top arm available when he turns 30 years old in December.
It’s not to say that the Padres can’t afford Musgrove or that they don’t want to, but with an already expensive payroll that will feature at least five players with salaries over $10 million, the Padres won’t have too much money to spend.
Spotrac’s current 2023 projected payroll is $147 million, and that is without projected arbitration and rookie deal numbers. For 2022, the current Padres payroll is $212 million, far and away the highest in franchise history.
Current Padres made their case following Musgrove’s dominant start Saturday.
Regarding Joe Musgrove:
“Pay the man,” Manny Machado said.
“Whatever it takes,” Eric Hosmer said.
— Kevin Acee (@sdutKevinAcee) May 21, 2022
Manny Machado and Eric Hosmer, the two highest-paid padres this year, want to keep Musgrove on the team, unsurprisingly. They are not alone, as the San Diego native has quickly become a Friar fan favorite after a fantastic first season and throwing the first no-hitter in franchise history.
Both the front office and Musgrove want to make a deal, but all parties hope that earlier disagreements didn’t sink a future possible deal with Musgrove’s fantastic contributions to the club this season.
Dominic is a graduate of Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, with a bachelor’s degree in Sports Journalism. He also is the producer and co-host of the “Padres EVT Podcast.”
The Padres low-balled Joe. He has been better than 10M per year. The probably could have gotten him for 6/95. Now, they’ll likely lose him to those ready to pay him $120M.
Maybe someone different from AJ needs to be handling contracts. Overpaid Profar, Kim, Suarez, and Garcia the last two years but can’t find enough to get Musgrove done? He’s put himself in a bind.