Darvish's declining production and hefty contract land him on baseball's most overpaid list, leaving the Padres in a financial bind.
The San Diego Padres are looking for starting pitching help this offseason, with part of that need stemming from the absence of right-hander Yu Darvish. Set to be out for the entirety of the 2026 season, San Diego is forced to look elsewhere for help in their rotation.
Even if Darvish was healthy, however, the Padres’ front office may still be looking for an additional arm. After a disappointing 2025 campaign, Darvish’s huge contract with San Diego has been called into question. It has even earned him a spot in Bleacher Report’s list of overpaid players at each position.
Making $16 million for the Padres next season, Darvish will be eating away at the club’s financial books while not setting foot on the mound. During a time when the Padres are being stretched out financially, Darvish’s contract looks worse and worse.
It wouldn’t be so bad if Darvish were still at the level he was at when he signed with San Diego ahead of the 2021 season. He was an All-Star his first season with teh Padres and received Cy Young votes the following season. Unfortunately, last year was a different story.
Darvish posted a 5.38 ERA across 15 starts last season for the Friars. He saw spikes in his hits per nine and home runs per nine while his strikeouts per nine dipped. At 39 years old, it’s not all that much of a surprise to see Darvish’s number trend downwards, but the Padres chose to sign him through the 2028 season, where he’ll be 42 by the season’s end.
His availability is another concern for San Diego. He pitched just 72 innings last year and 81 ⅔ in 2024. It’s now three seasons in a row for Darvish where injuries have limited him to throwing fewer than 140 innings in a season. Now missing the entire 2026 campaign, his struggles to stay on the mound have been highlighted once again.
With his availability issues, his obvious regression, and three seasons remaining on his contract, the Padres are in a tricky spot with Darvish and his contract. He’s already seen as one of the most overpaid starters in baseball, but it will only get worse as we get closer to his deal expiring after the 2028 season. The Padres sure could use his $16 million salary this offseason to land a reliable starter in his place.