Padres All-Star pitcher just took a not-so-veiled shot at Yankees' Juan Soto

The 2024 San Diego Padres, in the wake of a season where nothing seemed to go right in close game after close game, have reversed their wonky mojo spectacularly. Last summer's snakebitten team was quite literally bitten by the Snakes, falling out of the playoff picture in dreary fashion. Not only did the star-stacked Pads lose often, but they lost painfully and repeatedly; their 82-80 record came with a 92-70 pythagorean record. The math recognized their talent; the Baseball Gods did not.

This season, on the other hand, has been markedly different. These Padres enter the Wild Card round with an exceptional shot at pulling off an upset of the Dodgers in the NLDS. Their offense, led by Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr. and Rookie of the Year candidate Jackson Merrill, has delivered in the clutch time and time again (especially the superhuman freshman). The bullpen is stacked, reinforced by outfoxing the Yankees for Jason Adam and Tanner Scott. The rotation, already a strength, was bolstered by Michael King, sent by the Yankees in exchange for Juan Soto, and Dylan Cease, acquired using Yankees prospect Drew Thorpe from the Soto trade.

Joe Musgrove, a native San Diegan and the team's incumbent ace, reflected positively on the team's shifting mindset this week. Surely thankful for the revamped pitching staff, he also took a few chemistry shots at some big-league hitters who couldn't execute their "very clear job" last year, as well as noting the "selfishness" and "division" that pervaded the group last summer.

Padres star Joe Musgrove takes pretty clear shot at Yankees' Juan Soto ahead of MLB playoffs

Or, hey, maybe he's not talking about Soto. Maybe he's talking about some other core figures of the Padres offense who departed between 2023 and 2024 who have nothing to do with the Yankees. Names like ... oh, come on, Trent Grisham and Gary Sánchez.

Talk of division and selfishness could certainly apply to the year-over-year Padres bullpen picture, too, as Josh Hader famously had no interest in pitching multiple innings prior to free agency, but loves doing it now, and brags about it every chance he gets.

Still, it's hard not to notice that, although Musgrove didn't want to point any fingers, there were a few obvious turnover spots in the lineup, occupied by players he accused of being unable to complete simple teamwork tasks. At the very least, he appeared to be calling a cluster of former Yankees incompetent, while spreading his choice words around to the rest of his departed roster mates, too.