Padres’ Yu Darvish not sure if he will pitch in big leagues again

Yu Darvish had surgery in October to repair a torn UCL and flexor tendon in his right elbow.

The Padres said the recovery time for the veteran pitcher would be 12 to 15 months.

Darvish said this in a social media post after the procedure that he will “work hard in my rehab to be able to throw a ball comfortably again.”

That might not be in the major leagues.

Darvish confirmed Monday that he is not certain he will pitch again.

“I’m not necessarily thinking about really pitching as I go through this rehab process right now,” Darvish said Monday through translator Shingo Horie.

“I don’t have that in my mind. I’m just trying to just 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 is under contract through 2028. However, he has since before the 2025 season been noncommittal about how long he will play.

Speaking during an appearance at the Ronald McDonald House, for which he has been a benefactor, Darvish lamented how his 2025 season went.

“I don’t feel like I was able to really contribute to the team during that time while I was pitching,” Darvish said. “In my mind, I was thinking that maybe this could be it for me. So I was kind of, in a way, grinding through the season, trying to get the best out of myself for the team.”

Three sources have said this offseason that the 39-year-old Darvish is considering retirement.

A fourth source, while not explicitly saying the right-hander with a record 208 wins between MLB and Japan is calling it quits, said Darvish’s priorities after 21 years in professional baseball revolve around his family.

Among Darvish’s cherished rituals is playing catch with his sons. That was something he feared he would not be able to continue to do without surgery.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller did not get into specifics regarding Darvish’s future when asked about the pitcher at last month’s general managers meetings.

“We’ve got some more questions for the future and what does (the surgery) mean for Yu,” Preller said. “He’s a pro, and we have a ton of respect for him. We’re gonna let him go through his process and keep talking to him in the next couple of weeks.”

The surgery rules him out for 2026, a season for which he is scheduled to be paid $16 million. He is due $15 million in both ‘27 and ‘28.

If he retires, at least some of that money is freed up for the Padres, who would welcome the infusion of available funds in their quest to add much-needed starting pitching.

Darvish, who turned 39 in August, has made more than $220 million in 14 seasons in the major leagues. He also played seven seasons in Japan and is believed to have made several million more in endorsements as one of that country’s most revered professional athletes.

In 2024, he voluntarily forfeited $4 million by going on the restricted list while attending to a personal matter. He was on the injured list at the time and could have stayed there and been paid.

Sources have indicated there could be negotiations regarding a buyout of the money remaining on Darvish’s deal.

Elbow issues have sidelined Darvish each of his five seasons with Padres, and he was handled with care as he and the Padres slow-played his return from one such issue that occurred in spring training.

He made his first start of the season on July 7 and ended up making 15 starts in the regular season. He was 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 72 innings, and the Padres were 9-6 in his starts before starting Game 3 of the National League Wild Card Series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field on Oct. 2. He recorded just three outs and was charged with two runs, all in the second inning.

In 115 starts for the Padres, he is 44-37 with a 3.97 ERA.

On July 30, Darvish won his 204th game between MLB (111) and Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (93), becoming the winningest pitcher all-time between the two leagues.

Darvish is a two-time Cy Young Award runner-up, for the Rangers in 2013 and the Cubs in 2020. The Padres acquired him and catcher Victor Caratini on Dec. 28, 2020, in a trade that sent pitcher Zach Davies and four minor-leaguers to the Cubs.

Darvish’s 115 wins are the 13th most in the majors since 2012, his first season after pitching seven seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. His 3.65 ERA is 14th in that span among pitchers with at least 1,500 innings. His 1,778 innings are more than all but 15 other pitchers despite his missing the 2015 season after Tommy John surgery.

His 2,075 strikeouts rank 44th all-time.

The appearance Monday at the facility that provides a place to stay and support for families with children undergoing treatment at neighboring Rady’s Children’s Hospital indicates Darvish remains plugged into the San Diego community.

He said he and the Padres are talking about ways he can be around and impact the team in 2026.

“I expect him to be around the team a lot,” manager Craig Stammen said last week. “Specifically, him and Randy Vásquez have a really tight, close relationship. … Yu was very instrumental in Randy’s season last year, of it getting better as the season went on, with game-planning and knowing how to take care of his body. He’s going to be a huge asset for us, not just with Randy, but the entire team, specifically the pitching staff.”

Stammen also opined on the potential for Darvish to pitch again with both optimism and a level of uncertainty.

“I think so,” Stammen replied when asked if he understood Darvish was planning to continue his career.  “I would not put anything past Yu Darvish. That guy has accomplished so many things in our game. … That guy is an amazing man, and he’s been an amazing baseball player for a long time. The work that he puts in, how articulate he is and how detailed he is with what he does on a daily basis, he’s going to come back from this injury. Whether he and his family decide whether he wants to pitch anymore, that will be up to him, but I know he can do it.”