Padres News: Hometown kid Joe Musgrove is ready to win a ring

It’s been an offseason dominated by a stockpiling of pitching in San Diego, in hopes of pairing that group of arms with a potent offensive core en route to a World Series title.

The latest addition, Joe Musgrove, might not have quite as much hype surrounding him as someone like Blake Snell or Yu Darvish. But his story is certainly one all San Diego Padres fans will smile at.

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Musgrove grew up in the San Diego suburbs and has been a Padres fan his entire life. Now, he’s ready to help bring a championship to his hometown team.

“Anywhere you play, you’re trying to win a championship,” Musgrove told MLB.com. “But no championship would mean more than one for my own city.”

The right-hander was a first-round pick of the Pittsburgh Pirates back in 2011. Despite a rather pedestrian supporting cast, Musgrove put up a solid 3.69 FIP over the last three years int he Steel City, delivering some much-needed consistency to the team’s rotation.

Joe Musgrove could be a star-in-the-making for the Padres

Under team control for several more years, Musgrove will be a steady presence in the back of the Padres rotation. Again, he’s not going to get the same attention and hype as Chris Paddack or his new rotation mates. But this guy has the potential to be a key piece of the team’s quest to dethrone the Dodgers in the National League West this summer.

“It’s about getting pieces that fit and the right guys from a talent and makeup standpoint,” Padres general manager AJ Preller said. “But with Joe, being from San Diego, there’s a motivation there, a guy that knows the city. He’s a Padre fan, he grew up there, and wanting to win for his hometown club — we viewed that as a positive.”

In a dramatic change from his days with the Bucs, Musgrove will have an offense to back him every five days. That, paired with a rampant energy and enthusiasm that’s sure to come with playing for a winning team for the first time years could be a recipe for what could be one of the biggest feel-good stories in the game in 2021.

Having the opportunity to bring a championship to your hometown team is a rarity in professional sports. With a roster that’s teeming with talent around him, new Padres hurler Joe Musgrove has the chance to do just that.