The San Diego Padres announced prior to the start of Opening Day that starter Yu Darvish was going to be added to the Restricted List. The move meant Darvish would remain in the San Diego organization, could rehab with the medical staff, but would not be required to follow a certain program or schedule given by the team. It also meant Darvish would not receive a salary for the 2026 season. This move was made by the team for official purposes, but it was Darvish who made the decision to be placed
on the Restricted List. As a player under contract with guaranteed money, he could have remained with the team and worked on their schedule and received his pay, but according to reports, Darvish knew he could not compete on the field and felt it would not be right to take the money.
The decision by Darvish would have been unprecedented had he not recently spent time on the Restricted List in 2024 to attend to a personal family matter that required him to be away from the team for an extended period. There were reports this offseason that followed the announcement that Darvish had surgery on his elbow that would require him to miss the entirety of the 2026 season, that retirement was imminent for Darvish. He and his agent spoke out against the reports and not much had been said since. Some fans believed Darvish choosing not to retire, was selfish because the Padres could have used his salary to spend elsewhere on the team.
As it turns out, San Diego general manager A.J. Preller had been planning for this move by Darvish for quite some time. Once it was announced that Darvish was going on the Restricted List there were conflicting reports stating his money could be used to sign another free agent or make a trade that involved taking on money, while other reporting said the money from Darvish’s salary had already been accounted for and spent.
No matter the outcome, Thomas Conroy of Gaslamp Ball believes one thing about Darvish is clear, he is the rare athlete who puts the team first and genuinely wants the best for his organization. Conroy believes a player like Darvish should be commended and celebrated, but most importantly, he should be appreciated for what has given and continues to give to the Padres.
Padres News:
- AJ Cassavell of Padres.com points out some of the things the Friar Faithful can learn from the opening series between the Padres and Detroit Tigers. Despite San Diego losing the series, he believes there is more to come from the offense.
- Despite dropping the first two games of the series and needing a win on Saturday to salvage the series with the Tigers, the Padres know that if they want to get to the postseason they are going to have to win in the tough National League West. San Diego will get its first chance at a divisional foe when the San Francisco Giants come to Petco Park tonight.
- Padres prospect Kruz Schoolcraft is opening his 2026 season with the Lake Elsinore Storm. There are high expectations for the young starter, and the Padres could use him sooner than later, but they will be careful to focus on his development as he gains more experience in the system. Sung-Mun Song also got into some minor league action in a rehab appearance where he played shortstop while working back from an oblique injury that nagged him throughout the offseason and Spring Training.
- Randy Vasquez impressed Padres officials and fans alike with his strong spring performance. He continued that success on the mound with his first start of 2026 against the Tigers on Saturday. The right-hander completed six innings of shutout baseball and recorded eight strikeouts with just two hits allowed. He only walked three batters. Dennis Lin of The Athletic looks at what Vasquez worked on in the offseason that has made him better for the 2026 season.
Baseball News:
- Christian Yelich hit his first career pinch-hit home run and it propelled the Milwaukee Brewers to a win and a three-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox. Chicago had a home run story of its own with rookie Masataka Murakami hitting three home runs in the series.
- It’s no secret that the Seattle Mariners have one of the best pitching rotations in MLB and Emerson Hancock highlighted that fact with six no-hit innings to lead the Mariners over the Cleveland Guardians. MacKenzie Gore of the Texas Rangers, in his first start for Texas, followed suit and he too pitched six no-hit innings to help the Rangers beat the Philadelphia Phillies.
- Bo Bichette signed a hefty free-agent contract with the New York Mets in the offseason, and he has gotten off to a slow start. Mets fans are not happy about it and they let Bichette know by showering him with boos.
- A pair of veterans got their first home runs with their new teams, Andrew McCutchen homered for the Texas Rangers and Alex Bregman hit his first home run as a member of the Chicago Cubs and it came at Wrigley Field. Eugenio Suarez has hit plenty of home runs as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, but his home run Saturday night, was the first since he returned to the team as a free agent. Kazuma Okomoto also took part in the home run barrage by hitting his first MLB home run as a member of the Toronto Blue Jays which helped them sweep the A’s to open the season.
- Owen Cassie is one of the newest members of the Miami Marlins and he endeared himself to his teammates and the Miami fanbase with a walk-off home run that allowed the Marlins to sweep the Colorado Rockies and open the season at 3-0.
- Pete Alonso made his first significant impression as a member of the Baltimore Orioles with a hit that allowed the Orioles to get a win against the Minnesota Twins.
- Yandy Diaz of the Tampa Bay Rays banged out five hits against the St. Louis Cardinals and lead the Rays to a win over the Red Birds.
