With the addition of Joe Musgrove, the San Diego Padres’ starting rotation for the start of the season is stacked.
This past season was a great one for the San Diego Padres. Once deemed a couple of years away from the playoffs, the Padres exceeded expectations and clinched their first postseason berth since 2006 and won their first postseason series since 1998.
Sensing that the window was wide open to contend for the World Series, the Padres made multiple splash moves this offseason to bolster their starting rotation. The latest addition came on Monday evening, when the Padres acquired Joe Musgrove from the Pittsburgh Pirates in a trade that also included the New York Mets.
With the 2021 season now two months away, the Padres will now have a rotation of Musgrove, Blake Snell, Yu Darvish, Dinelson Lamet and Chris Paddack on Opening Day. That’s wonderful news for San Diego fans, and an absolute nightmare for those who have to face them this upcoming season.
San Diego’s super starting rotation
The Musgrove trade comes after the Pirates settled with him for $4.45 million for the upcoming season to avoid an arbitration hearing. Even so, the Pirates let it be known that the 28-year-old pitcher was available for trade. With Mike Clevinger out for the upcoming season after undergoing Tommy John surgery, decided to acquire Musgrove to fill the void. In exchange, the Padres surrendered prospects Hudson Head, David Bednar, Omar Cruz and Drake Fellows to the Pirates and pitcher Joey Lucchesi to the Mets.
After getting eliminated by the rival Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL Division Series, the Padres decided to add to their strength — pitching. This past season, the Padres ranked eighth in team ERA (3.86), ninth in on-base percentage allowed (.234) and fifth in strikeouts (565).
Even with those numbers, general manager AJ Preller opted to make blockbuster trades with the Tampa Bay Rays for Snell and the Chicago Cubs for Darvish!
Let the record show that hits will be hard to come by for those who are scheduled to play the Padres in 2021.