OAKLAND -- Joe Musgrove’s roller coaster of a 2023 season has officially come to an end.

The Padres have slowed Musgrove’s throwing program, effectively ending the right-hander's season. Though Musgrove, who has been sidelined since early August with right shoulder capsule inflammation, hasn’t experienced any setbacks in his buildup, the team made the decision, acknowledging its place in the standings.

• Padres storylines to watch down the stretch

The Padres have not formally announced the decision, but multiple people with knowledge of their plans confirmed as much. The move comes days after the team also shut down right-hander Yu Darvish, though that move was related to Darvish’s still-sore pitching elbow. The Padres’ status as non-contenders -- not anything wrong with Musgrove’s shoulder -- was the impetus behind this decision.

Musgrove posted a 3.05 ERA across 17 starts this season. At the time of his injury, he was red-hot, having posted a 1.84 ERA in his final 12 outings.

Speaking Wednesday, before the Padres finalized their plans to shut Musgrove down, the 30-year-old seemed resigned to that fate. He initially hoped to build up for a start or two late in the season if the team was in contention. But the Padres never thrust themselves back into the playoff picture.

"I want to pitch," Musgrove said Wednesday. "But obviously the risk/reward is not that great. If I go out there and pitch a game that's not leading toward anything for us as a team, then it's not worth it if I go out there and get injured. If we're in a postseason race, pushing to get back, that makes more sense than doing it right now, with what the situation is.”

In any case, Musgrove, who did not make the trip to Oakland, has been playing catch for three weeks without feeling any effects of his shoulder injury. That buildup, Musgrove said, wasn’t for nothing.

“I feel great,” Musgrove said. “I feel the best I’ve felt since the [IL stint]. The big thing is you don’t want to be playing catch-up. The offseason is a time where you get an extended period to really work on things. … There’s peace of mind in knowing that you’re healthy.”

Musgrove and the Padres are hopeful that’s a precursor for a strong 2024 season, the second year in the five-year extension he signed last summer. For a pitcher who had proven remarkably durable in the past, Musgrove dealt with his share of injuries in ‘23. 

He missed his first few starts after he fractured his left big toe when he dropped a kettlebell on it in the team’s Spring Training weight room. As he attempted to return, he dealt with a brief shoulder injury that he sustained while fielding a bunt. Later in the year, Musgrove experienced elbow bursitis. 

Then, as he played catch between starts after his outing against Texas on July 28, Musgrove’s shoulder barked. Subsequent tests revealed inflammation in his shoulder capsule, and Musgrove was shut down from throwing for four weeks.

At the time, the team devised a plan to build Musgrove back to full strength for the final week of the season and potentially a run into October. That plan, however, was always contingent on the Padres making a playoff push -- a playoff push that never came, a playoff push that was always going to be tougher to make without one of their best pitchers.