San Diego Padres starting pitcher Joe Musgrove has suffered a fractured left big toe after dropping a kettlebell in a weight room accident Monday, the team said Tuesday.
No timetable has been given for his return, but Padres manager Bob Melvin said it would be a "minimum of a couple weeks" before he could throw again.
"We'll see. It's kind of tough to forecast when you have a broken toe," Melvin told reporters. "It's going to be more about how it heals. Certainly if it's a pain tolerance thing, Joe would be one of those guys that would be sooner than later. But obviously we have to evaluate how he's feeling every day and we'll see where we go."
Musgrove, who signed a five-year, $100 million contract in August, went 10-7 with a 2.93 ERA and 184 strikeouts for the Padres last season while earning his first career All-Star selection.
The 30-year-old right-hander is forecast for the No. 2 spot in the rotation behind Yu Darvish and likely will be joined by Blake Snell and Michael Wacha. Nick Martinez, Seth Lugo and Adrian Morejon also are slated as potential starters, with the Padres possibly beginning the season with a six-man rotation.
Once Musgrove is cleared to throw, he will have to build up arm strength and endurance.
"He is not starting over but the longer you go the more it gets closer to starting over. Joe is a guy who keeps himself in really good shape," Melvin said.
Musgrove has a career record of 50-54 with a 3.79 ERA with the Padres, Pittsburgh Pirates and Houston Astros in seven MLB seasons.
He etched himself into Padres lore when he threw the first no-hitter in franchise history in just his second start for San Diego, at Texas on April 9, 2021. It was in the team's 8,206th regular-season game.
The Padres did get some good news Tuesday, with Fernando Tatis Jr. playing in his first game since missing the 2022 season due to injury and drug suspension.
Tatis was in the lineup Tuesday as the designated hitter and batting second in an exhibition against San Francisco.
Tatis broke his left wrist on Oct. 3, 2021, and was on the cusp of returning when he was suspended for 80 games last Aug. 12 following a positive test for Clostebol, an anabolic steroid. Tatis blamed his positive PED test on a cream he said he took for ringworm.
He has 12 games left to serve on the suspension and barring postponements will be eligible to play April 20 at Arizona.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.