Joe Musgrove The Padres and right-hander Joe Musgrove have intermittently engaged in contract negotiations
throughout the current season, both during the month of April (when San Diego reportedly floated an eight-year
agreement worth about $88 million) and more recently in the last few months. It was on July 2 that the
Athlete's Ken Rosenthal wrote that negotiations seemed to have "fizzled," thus making it appear that Musgrove
is likely to explore the market for free agents during the winter. But, the two parties have resumed talks,
according to Kevin Acee of The San Diego Union-Tribune. In addition, "there is optimism the deal could be
completed this week." If the All-Star break will trigger any kind of deadline is not known however Musgrove has stated
in the past that he does not want negotiations to be delayed until the final two months of the season.
The amount of negotiating that takes place in the off-season is quite unusual considering that most players typically
decide to set Opening Day as the unofficial deadline to conclude extensions talks in order to keep the talks
focused once the game begins. It's also unusual for an athlete who is preparing for a huge salary as a free agent,