The San Diego Padres have known for a while that starter Yu Darvish will be out this season, but reports have surfaced that Darvish is considering retirement over rehab after undergoing elbow surgery, according to a report from Dennis Lin of The Athletic and multiple other outlets.
According to a report from the San Diego Union-Tribune via Lin, however, Darvish told the Padres yesterday that he would retire with three years and $43 million left on his contract, with the expectation that he would give up the bulk of the money.
This seems unlikely, but a settlement is certainly possible, especially with the Padres up for sale and up against it with their payroll and possible luxury-tax penalties. But Darvish’s agent, Joel Wolfe, quickly moved to put the brakes on the retirement train.
“Yu has not made a final decision yet,” Wolfe said in a statement. “This is a complicated matter we are still working through.”
The Athletic also requested a comment from Padres GM A.J. Preller, and the GM issued a bland, generic statement as well.
“We have been in regular communication with Yu throughout the offseason and his post-surgery rehab,” Preller said. “We have great respect for him and will continue to support him in his decision-making process.”
Darvish is considered one of the most successful Japanese pitchers of all time, but his time with the Padres has been the opposite of that. According to Lin, the six-year, $108 million extension Darvish signed with San Diego was designed mostly to lower the AAV, and the Padres ended up paying a luxury bill of almost $40 million. The Padres are a different team now, however, especially when it comes to payroll issues.
On the field, Darvish has posted a 4.41 ERA over three seasons, with injuries posing constant issues. Darvish’s final start last season was in the deciding game of the decided game of the Wild Card Series against the Chicago Cubs, and Darvish failed to make it out of the first inning.
Darvish’s final salaries for the last three seasons of his deal are $15 million for the first year, followed by two seasons when he’ll make $14 million each. A settlement would certainly make sense for both parties given the rigors of rehab, and the Padres could definitely use the tax relief.
It’s been a slow season for San Diego when it comes to making moves, and a settlement might allow Preller to do some work around the margins with spring training fast approaching. The Padres currently have a thin rotation, with re-signed pitcher Michael King and fellow starter Joe Musgrove coming off injuries, and there's also a serious hole at first base that still needs to be filled.