Padres pitcher Yu Darvish set to retire

Kevin Acee, The San Diego Union-Tribune on Jan 24, 2026

Published in Baseball

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SAN DIEGO — Yu Darvish does not plan to pitch again in the major leagues.

The 39-year-old right-hander, who has been one of the best starting pitchers of his era, has told the San Deigo he will retire with three years and $43 million remaining on his contract.

Darvish underwent surgery in October to repair a torn UCL and flexor tendon in his right elbow. That was after he spent much of last season sidelined, starting just 15 regular-season games plus Game 3 of the Padres’ wild-card Series against the Chicago Cubs.

Darvish said recently that he is focusing on time with his family and making sure his body recovers.

“The way my rehab is going now, I am focused on getting right, not on coming back,” he said late last month. “Right now, I’m not really thinking too much about the future. Just knowing the way I think, I’m sure I will one day want to throw again. All I’ve thought about in my life is baseball.”

Darvish missed half of the 2024 season due to elbow issues and a personal matter, but came back to pitch exceptionally well in the playoffs. When he and Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller spoke after that season, it was with the understanding that Darvish would likely need elbow surgery at some point. Darvish said he made it clear at that time he was considering “getting rid of” his contract.

Now, a year later, Darvish and others involved in the process have said some details must be worked out in terms of how much of the remaining money he will forfeit. But multiple people familiar with the process said any buyout would involve Darvish giving up the bulk of what he would be owed and that the Padres are set to realize a significant savings over the next three years. That money is intended to be used to help make the team better.

“As far as leaving lots of money,” Darvish said in a recent interview, “I look at it as that was never mine to begin with, especially considering the money I haven’t physically earned yet.”

Even as he contemplated this move, which seemed inevitable for months, Darvish remained a regular presence at Petco Park.

He sat in on talks with free agents. He attended the news conference announcing Michael King’s contract agreement.

Those around Darvish say the trust between the pitcher and Preller has impacted every decision Darvish has made, including the one to retire.

“Yes,” Darvish said recently. “And Peter. Especially Peter.”

Peter Seidler was the Padres’ chairman when Darvish was awarded a six-year, $108 million contract in January 2023.

“They gave me the contract, and that year everything changed,” Darvish said, referring to Seidler’s death in November 2023. “Peter’s desire was always to win the World Series. I want to do what I can to help that.”

In 115 starts for the Padres, he was 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. He won four more games after that.

Darvish is a two-time Cy Young Award runner-up, for the Texas 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, who also pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers, finishes with 115 career wins in the major leagues. That is the 13th-highest total in the majors since 2012, Darvish’s first season stateside after pitching seven seasons for the Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan. Darvish’s 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.

Darvish dealt with elbow issues in each of his five seasons with the Padres.

Even before spring training in 2025, he acknowledged there was no guarantee he would finish his contract. That potential increased when he was shut down with elbow discomfort in March.

“I did seriously consider potentially not coming back — with the injury, as well as with my performance the last couple years not being up to standard,” he said recently. “But I thought to myself to go all out and treat it as if it was my last time.”

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