San Diego Padres right-hander Joe Musgrove is expected to open the season on the injured list after he was slow to recover from his return start March 4 start at spring training.

Musgrove missed all of last season following Tommy John surgery and made his return to the mound in an exhibition game against Great Britain’s World Baseball Classic team at Peoria, Ariz., during the first week of March.

He went two-plus innings with three strikeouts and allowed a run on five singles, with a fastball that reached 95 mph.

“I’ve talked to a lot of guys that say they don’t feel normal or don’t feel back to themselves (until) about that two-year mark,” Musgrove said after the outing. “I’ve got all these things that I’m aware of, but I’m not really trying to put myself into one of those classes right now. I’m kind of just taking the ball every fifth day and see how I recover and adjust as we go.”

But Musgrove has not thrown a baseball since, with Padres manager Craig Stammen telling reporters Monday that his starter is expected to be on the IL when San Diego opens its season March 26 at home against the Detroit Tigers.

When he last pitched in 2024, Musgrove was 6-5 with a 3.88 ERA in 19 regular-season starts. He was pulled early from a wild-card round game against the Atlanta Braves on Oct. 2 and diagnosed with a torn UCL two days later.

Over nine seasons with the Houston Astros (2016-17), Pittsburgh Pirates (2018-20) and Padres, Musgrove is 66-62 with a 3.73 ERA in 206 appearances (180 starts).

–Field Level Media

Former Chicago Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright is receiving over $1.4 million in performance-based pay for the 2025 season, highlighting the more than $542 million the league is paying out for players whose play time was not proportional to their salary.

That payout will more than double Wright’s $1.1 million salary he received from Chicago for the 2025 season in which he played 97% of the team’s defensive snaps, recording 80 tackles, five interceptions, 11 pass breakups, two forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and three tackles for loss to earn his first career Pro Bowl nod in his fifth season.

Wright was rewarded this offseason for his breakout season, signing a one-year contract worth up to $5.5 million with the New York Jets last week.

He’s joined by Browns safety Ronnie Hickman, Falcons offensive lineman Elijah Wilkinson, Panthers safety Nick Scott and Commanders offensive lineman Chris Paul rounding out the top five in performance-based pay for the 2025 season, each receiving over $1.2 million in addition to their salaries.

Overall, a record 25 players received over $1 million in performance-based pay. The NFL has paid nearly $3.3 billion in performance-based pay since it was introduced for the 2002 season as an updated part of the league’s collective bargaining agreement.

–Field Level Media

By the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics opening ceremony takes place July 14, the men’s and women’s soccer tournament will be well underway, according to the schedule that was released Monday.

The men’s and women’s Olympic tournaments will be held across the United States, with New York, Columbus, Ohio, Nashville, Tenn., and St. Louis all playing host to men’s and women’s group stage matches July 10 and 11.

San Diego and San Jose, Calif., will play host to women’s group stage matches starting July 11.

The tournament will not reach the Los Angeles area until July 21 when the women’s tournament conducts a quarterfinal match on July 21 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. The men’s and women’s semifinals and finals will also take place at the Rose Bowl between July 24-29.

The early start to the tournament allows all teams two extra days of rest between games compared to previous Olympic tournaments.

The complete schedule for both tournaments, as well as game start times, will be released at a later date.

–Field Level Media