Padres ace Joe Musgrove drops 4-word reaction as $7,750,000 star named Opening Day starter

Making his much-anticipated return to the mound after the All-Star break, San Diego Padres ace Joe Musgrove finished the 2024 season with a 6-5 win/loss record, along with a 3.88 ERA and 101 total strikeouts. The 32-year-old played an extremely important role for his team, as they sealed their playoff spot by finishing top of the NL wildcard.

However, Musgrove had to exit the field with elbow discomfort in the very first appearance he made in the postseason, an injury that eventually required him to undergo Tommy John surgery. Set to spend the entirety of the 2025 season on the sidelines, Musgrove will be cheering on his fellow colleagues to get the job done in his absence.

Set to take on the Atlanta Braves at Truist Park to open their season, the Padres announced on Monday that Michael King would be getting the start for the Friars in game one, via an Instagram post.

"Opening Day belongs to the King 👑 #SDOpeningDay" the Instagram post was captioned.

Shortly after, Musgrove shared the post to his own story, along with a four-word reaction.

"Lead the way King! @officialmikeking" Joe Musgrove wrote

Screenshot of Joe Musgrove's Instagram Story (Image from - Instagram.com/@mu59rove IG Stories)

Michael King, who also enjoyed an excellent 2024 season, finishing with a 13-9 win/loss record, a 2.95 ERA and 201 total strikeouts, was rewarded with a one-year, $7.75 million extension in late January.

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Amid ownership issues, MLB insider highlights key Padres issue with both Joe Musgrove and Yu Darvish 'not getting any younger'

With the Padres ownership currently tussling for control and numerous trade rumors regarding important starters Michael King and Dylan Cease continuing to emerge, MLB insider Jeff Passan talked about how the Padres are in for a tough time if either of the aforementioned two players were to leave.

"They’ve got a nasty fight over ownership of the franchise, which is always the sort of thing that can destabilize the product on the field, because, you know, if you don’t know where the future ownership’s going to go, the likelihood of getting spending okay is a whole lot lower. And they’ve also got Dylan Cease and Michael King going into their walk year, with Yu Darvish and Joe Musgrove, who’s out right now, really being the lone holdovers in that rotation."

"You can look at Randy Vasquez as well or Matt Waldron, but in reality, those are more backend-of-the-rotation type guys. When you’re talking front-end starters, you know, Musgrove in his 30s, Darvish in his late 30s, like, this is not a group of pitchers that’s getting any younger. ... And so, the Padres, it’s a real rock-and-a-hard-place situation." Passan said, via Talkin' Baseball

With the new season fast approaching, fans will be hoping their starting rotation is able to perform to a high level and guide the team to yet another solid campaign.