Padres News: Spring training live at-bats, Musgrove eyes October, Jhony Brito return date

We are now just three days away from the Padres playing in their first spring training game of the 2025 season when they take on the Seattle Mariners on Friday at noon. A confusing and sometimes frustrating offseason has developed into one that has been somewhat productive in recent weeks, with key additions to the roster being made. Looking past those signings, there are a number of other headlines for Padres to keep their eyes on.

Position players face off against pitching staff in live at-bats

With the entire team now in Peoria, Arizona preparing for Friday's game, the pitching staff has been able to get some work in facing the rest of the roster. Newest Padre Yuli Gurriel, who agreed to a minor league deal with an invitation to camp on Monday, looked comfortable in his new threads hitting a homerun off Padres number two starter Michael King.

Third-year reliever Alek Jacob showed off his nasty sinker/changeup combo in an at-bat against new addition Mike Brosseau, earning a ground ball out in the process. Jacob will look to have a more solidified role in the bullpen in 2025, while Brosseau is looking for a role as a utility/bench player.

Other matchups included Manny Machado collecting a hit against Jeremiah Estrada, Jason Adam inducing a ground ball to third off Elias Diaz, and Fernando Tatis Jr. collecting a nice piece of contact also off Estrada.

Musgrove looking to contribute after undergoing Tommy John

San Diego native Joe Musgrove has made it clear he wants to contribute in 2025 after undergoing Tommy John surgery in October. Musgrove, who is entering the third year of a five-year, $100 million contract, told reporters on Monday he is doing anything and everything possible to speedup the recovery process in the safest way possible.

"I'm realistic about the odds of me coming back this year, but I'm absolutely pushing to get back in October," said Musgrove.

Musgrove's season ending surgery forced the Padres to sign a replacement arm, which came in the form of Nick Pivetta. The last time Musgrove started a similar number of games in a season as Pivetta was 2022, when Musgrove started 30 and Pivetta started 33. In that season, Musgrove made his first and only All-Star game with a 2.93 ERA and 1.083 WHIP, better than Pivetta's 4.56 ERA and 1.380 WHIP.

Jhony Brito's expected return date

Acquired in the Juan Soto trade, Jhony Brito is looking to establish himself as a bullpen presence in 2025, but not before he returns from a right elbow sprain. Placed on the 60-day IL to finish 2024, Brito is expected to return by April according to CBS Sports. Appearing in 26 games and pitching 43.2 innings for San Diego in 2024, Brito finished the year with a 4.12 ERA, 1.351 WHIP, and below average 6.0 K/9.