Padres Add Joe Musgrove to Playoff Roster After Two Years Out
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The San Diego Padres have named pitcher Joe Musgrove to their wild-card playoff roster. Musgrove has not appeared in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game for two years.
The Padres will face the Chicago Cubs in the wild-card round. This is the first stage of the MLB postseason. Teams play a short series to move forward.
Musgrove is a starting pitcher. His job is to throw the ball to the other team's batters. He last played in an MLB game in 2024.
Adding him to the roster is a big decision for the Padres. It shows the team believes he can help them during the playoffs. Not every player on a team can join the postseason roster, so each choice matters.
Details about Musgrove's recovery have not been shared. However, his return to a competitive roster after two years away is notable news for baseball fans.
The Padres will hope his experience helps the team as they try to advance past the Cubs. Wild-card games are single elimination, meaning a loss ends a team's season.
Fans and reporters will watch closely to see if Musgrove actually plays in the series, or if he is simply part of the roster for now.
Vocabulary10 words
- Padres
- a Major League Baseball team from San Diego
- wild-card
- an early round of the baseball playoffs
- MLB
- the top professional baseball league in the US
- postseason
- games played after the regular season to decide a champion
- pitcher
- a player whose main job is to throw the ball
- roster
- the official list of players a team can use in games
- recovery
- the process of getting healthy again after injury
- competitive
- connected to real games where winning matters
- advance
- to move forward to the next stage
- single elimination
- a format where one loss ends your chance to continue
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Quiz
Answer key
1. Pitcher 2. He hasn't played in an MLB game for two years 3. Their season ends
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Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
The San Diego Padres have named pitcher Joe Musgrove to their _____ playoff roster.
Musgrove has not appeared in a Major League Baseball (MLB) game for _____ years.
The Padres will face the Chicago _____ in the wild-card round.
This is the first stage of the MLB _____.
Musgrove is a starting _____.
He last played in an MLB game in _____.
Adding him to the _____ is a big decision for the Padres.
Details about Musgrove's _____ have not been shared.
Wild-card games are single _____, meaning a loss ends a team's season.
Fans and reporters will watch closely to see if Musgrove actually _____ in the series.
Discussion questions
- Why might a team choose to add a player who hasn't played in two years to its playoff roster?
- What risks could a team take by including a player returning after a long absence?
- How important do you think experience is compared to recent performance in playoff situations?
- Have you ever seen a similar 'surprise comeback' story in sports? What happened?
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