Padres rumors: Joe Musgrove looking for ‘enticing offer’ to stay in San Diego

The San Diego Padres certainly don’t lack talented pitchers. Their starters and bullpen have been consistently good all season, but that may change when Joe Musgrove reaches free agency next season.

According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Padres want Musgrove to stay in San Diego, and Musgrove wants to stay, too. However, a deal hasn’t been discussed further.

He’s mentioned to the San Diego Union-Tribune that he would be interested in agreeing on a deal if the Padres present an “enticing offer,” leaving the suggestion that he’s just as open to leaving the team for a better deal.

Musgrove is a great pitcher, and despite being on a roster of several other talented pitchers, he manages to stand out. He’d likely have a lot of attention and offers in free agency, but he’d be worth extra money to stay in San Diego.

Joe Musgrove stands out on the Padres roster of talented pitchers

Musgrove has been providing results that nobody on the team can replace. Musgrove has the best batting average against (.194), WHIP (0.93) and earned run average (2.09) on the team. He’s also struck out the most hitters (98).

The next best pitcher, Yu Darvish, has a BAA of .221, WHIP of 1.01 and ERA of 3.53. He’s struck out 85 hitters. Beyond Darvish, Sean Manaea and MacKenzie Gore have been consistent with good results.

Manaea has pitched nearly as many innings as Musgrove and has a BAA of .225, WHIP of 1.23 and ERA of 4.18. He’s struck out 92. Gore is slightly behind in BAA (.232) and WHIP (1.35) but has a better ERA of 3.18. He’s struck out 68.

Musgrove is one of the best pitchers in MLB. He has the fifth-best ERA, sixth-best BAA and is tied for sixth-best WHIP.

The Padres are currently second in the NL West standings and have 87.9 percent playoff odds according to FanGraphs. The Padres lineup has been inconsistent this season, and a lot of their success comes directly from the pitchers. Musgrove has been one of the most important factors to their success.