During an appearance with the San Diego Padres Holiday Tour at Ronald McDonald House in San Diego, Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish gave an update on his recovery from the flexor tendon and UCL repair that threatens his illustrious career.
Speaking to the media during his time visiting kids and families at RMH, Darvish expressed his desire to get healthy and get his arm back to baseline. He is not worried about pitching at this point in his recovery and will wait until he is fully recovered to decide
the future of his career.
“I’m not necessarily thinking about really pitching as I go through this rehab process right now,” Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. “I don’t have that in my mind. I’m just trying to rehab my arm right now.
“And if I get the urge to come back, if I feel that I can stand on the mound and come back, then I will go for that. But I’ll just leave it there for now.”
Darvish revealed that he was told in March, during Spring Training, that the injury to his pitching elbow was serious enough to need surgery but he opted to try and rehab it and pitch through it. His goal was to give whatever he could to the team with the thought that this could be the end to his career.
After changing his arm angle and working on mechanics to put less strain on his elbow, Darvish came back in July but had the worst season of his career. His 5.38 ERA over 15 starts during the regular season highlighted the struggles he had with his pitches and the ability for hitters to have success against him.
He stated that it was the flexor tendon (muscle) that was the biggest issue but the surgeon also performed a UCL brace surgery to reinforce his formerly repaired Tommy John site. The previous two surgeries on Darvish’s elbow occurred in 2015 (Tommy John) and arthroscopic surgery done in 2018. This is the third straight season as a Padre that Darvish has had an elbow injury or issues.
At 39, Darvish still has three years and $46 million left on the contract he signed in 2023. Should he decide he no longer can or wants to pitch, then he and the organization can negotiate a settlement to end his contract.
For the 2026 season, Darvish can still be valuable as a leader and a mentor to the other pitchers on the staff. It has been noted by manager Craig Stammen that he has a particularly close bond with Randy Vasquez and has been part of his improvement as a starter.
Looking at the previous history with players that president of baseball operations A.J. Preller admires, it would not be a surprise to see Darvish adopt a role in the front office or as a special consultant if he is no longer able to pitch for the Padres.
Based on his previous willingness to forego his salary when unable to be with the team due to personal issues, it can be that a similar honorable approach could be expected during this process. That seemed evident with his willingness to admit to his current state of mind regarding his career and capabilities.
