"Jackson Merrill's girlfriend Sammie is great, our girls get along" - Joe Musgrove talks offseason bond with younger Padres teammate
San Diego Padres pitcher Joe Musgrove has established a good rapport with rookie teammate Jackson Merrill. The two, along with their partners, have spent time together during this year's offseason.
On Marty Caswell's MartyTime TV podcast, Musgrove was asked about his relationship with Merrill and his partner.
"Yeah, I love it," Musgrove said. "I mean and then not to like age myself or sound like I'm like this old vet in the game, but [it is] refreshing to be around a young kid that's like new to the game and has a lot of intensity in the way he plays, and the way he works, and has this like burning fire to like destroy the rookie scene."
"[You know] our approach to the game and the way that we prepare is very similar and I feel like I have the ability to find somebody that I actually enjoy being around and I like and I feel like I can help from a pitching perspective. What I look at, what I see in his game that I would improve or how I would try to attack him, we just had a really good partnership," he continued.
"I really enjoyed him his girlfriend Sammie's great. Our girls get along really well so it's easy."
Jackson Merrill had a stellar rookie campaign with the Padres. He finished with a .292 batting average, smashed 24 home runs, and drove in 90 runs. This merited the young sensation a ticket to the MLB All-Star game, along with a Silver Slugger Award and All-MLB Second Team honors.
Joe Musgrove, on the other hand, had a rocky 2024 season. He was placed on the injury reserve in June after a bone spur on his pitching elbow appeared. He made his sole postseason appearance on October 2 against the Atlanta Braves in the NLWCS but was pulled in the fourth inning.
Musgrove was then diagnosed with a torn UCL and is scheduled to miss the entirety of next season after surgery.
Joe Musgrove's girlfriend Arica and Jackson Merrill's partner Sammie attends NBA G-League game
Joe Musgrove with his partner Arica and Jackson Merrill with his partner Sammie spent time visiting the Los Angeles Clippers' NBA G-League affiliate, the San Diego Clippers.
The MLB stars were presented with jerseys of the team during their appearance. It happened during the Clippers' game against the South Bay Lakers, an affiliate of the Los Angeles Lakers, on Thursday at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
San Diego triumphed over South Bay, 112 to 100.