Padres suffer huge blow after Joe Musgrove's weight room toe mishap

Manager Bob Melvin said Tuesday morning that it'll be a "minimum of a couple weeks" before Musgrove can throw again, which is a big blow to the Friars' starting rotation. 

The 2022 All-Star is slated to be the team's No. 2 starter behind the recently extended Yu Darvish, but the rest of the unit has serious question marks.

Projected No. 3 starter Blake Snell is a former AL Cy Young award winner, but outside of that masterful 2018 campaign, the lefty has had trouble staying healthy, failing to record more than 130 innings pitched in any of his other seasons. 

After Snell is newcomer Michael Wacha, who is coming off of an 11-2 season with the Boston Red Sox where he sported a pretty 3.32 ERA and 1.11 WHIP, but before that, the 31-year-old had struggled in three straight seasons with ERAs north of 4.75.

Projected No. 5 starter Nick Martinez was solid across 47 appearances last season (3.47 ERA, 1.28 WHIP), but prior to that he hadn't pitched in the big leagues since 2017, so it might be asking a lot for him to repeat his success in 2023. Even Darvish -- the ace of the staff -- carries risk, as he'll turn 37 in August.

While Darvish earned his spot at the top of the rotation with his brilliant 2022 season, Musgrove may have been the best bet to produce solid numbers in 2023. Not only did the righty have a team-best and career-low 2.93 ERA last season, but he should be entering his prime.

Musgrove turned 30 in December and he and Snell are the youngest two starters on the staff (both born Dec. 4, 1992).

The Los Angeles Dodgers showed last year that they won't be waiting around for other teams in the NL West to play catch up, so the Padres can't afford to fall behind this spring. Fans in San Diego now have to hold their breath on the Musgrove news and hope their potent bats can carry the load if he misses time.