San Diego Padres’ pitcher Joe Musgrove suffered a major setback on Friday, when the team announced that he would need Tommy John surgery to fix a tear in his pitching elbow. This injury will keep him out for the entire 2025 season, putting a dent in the Padres’ World Series ambitions. Musgrove’s injury first came to light during Game 2 of the NL Wild Card Series when he experienced tightness in his elbow. After a few pitches that didn’t feel right, he left the game, and an MRI later confirmed the worst.<\/p>
“I’m devastated about not being able to finish what we started,” Musgrove said from the Padres’ dugout.<\/em> His disappointment was clear, knowing that this surgery marks a tough break in his career.<\/p> The Padres’ president of baseball operations, A.J. Preller, explained that Musgrove’s injury involves the ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), and the typical recovery time from Tommy John surgery ranges from 12 to 18 months. Musgrove is now in the process of finding a surgeon and talking to teammates who have had similar procedures.<\/p> Tommy John surgery involves replacing a damaged or torn ulnar collateral ligament in the elbow with a tendon taken from elsewhere in the patient’s body or from a donor. The surgery was named after Dodgers pitcher Tommy John, who was the first to undergo the procedure in 1974, performed by Dr. Frank Jobe.<\/p>What is Tommy John surgery?<\/h2>