YU DARVISH

• Position(s): Right-handed pitcher
• Bats / Throws: Right / Right
• 2025 opening day age: 38
• Height / Weight: 6-foot-5 / 220 pounds
• How acquired: Via trade with the Chicago Cubs in December 2020
• Contract status: Will make $21 million in the third year of a six-year, $108 million extension signed before the start of the 2023 season; the payout schedule calls for Darvish to make $16 million 2026 and $15 million in 2027 and 2028.
• fWAR in 2024: 1.1
• Key 2024 stats: 7-3, 3.31 ERA, 78 strikeouts, 22 walks, 1.07 WHIP, .217 opponent average, 81⅔ innings (16 starts)

 

STAT TO NOTE

• 8.6 — Darvish’s strikeouts per nine innings in 2024, the lowest rate of his career. He’s averaged 10.6 strikeouts per nine innings over his 12-year career, but he hasn’t topped 10 since his first year in San Diego (10.8) and dropped from 9.3 per nine innings in an injury-shortened 2023 season to 8.6 per nine innings in another season interrupted by both injury and circumstances.

 

TRENDING

• Down — By season’s end, Darvish rivaled Michael King as the best arm going in the rotation. He beat the Dodgers in Game 2 of the NLDS with seven innings of one-run ball and gave the Padres a chance to win with 6⅔ innings of two-run ball in the decisive Game 5, a start that might have been good enough to win had the Padres’ offense not ended the season in a 24-inning drought. It was a notable rebound for a pitcher who was shelved in April with neck tightness, returned to the injured list in June with a groin strain and was contending with elbow inflammation when he was moved to the restricted list to handle a personal matter. The second absence stretched longer than three months, but Darvish started his ramp-up at a local high school on his own and once he squared away his personal matter — neither he nor the team commented on the reason he stepped away — he hit the ground running, returning on Sept. 4 without an official minor league rehab start. Darvish threw 2⅔ innings in the first start, five innings in his next and then beat the Astros with six shutout innings, setting him up for a prominent role in a rotation that, with Joe Musgrove’s return, was deemed a postseason strength. In fact, the rotation was so deep that Darvish was not needed until Game 2 of the NLDS and his two starts against the Dodgers lowered his opponent batting line to .144/.216/.289 over his final five starts of the year. Darvish averaged just 6.6 strikeouts per nine innings over that stretch, continuing a trend that has seen his strikeout numbers drop in recent years (see stat to note). However, his chase rate for the season jumped from 27.2 in 2023 to 30.7, the second-best of his career, providing more evidence that a pitcher with as deep a repertoire as Darvish would find ways to remain effective as he approached the end of his career.

 

2025 OUTLOOK

• Darvish’s end-of-season surge proved he’s still a challenge for even the best teams to beat when he’s on his game. The question is how often he’ll be available. He’s topped 190 innings just once in four years in San Diego, threw just 136⅓ innings in 2023 and just 81⅔ innings last year. The Padres will need more from Darvish this season, but, given his age, would be wise to add depth options to guard against Father Time pulling him away from the team a time or two.

 

 

Roster rankings

• 7. INF Luis Arraez
• 8. INF Xander Bogaerts
• 9. RHP Robert Suarez
• 10. INF Jake Cronenworth
• 11. RHP Jason Adam
• 12. RHP Joe Musgrove
• 13. Adrián Morejón
• 14. RHP Jeremiah Estrada
• 15. RHP Matt Waldron
• 16. INF Eguy Rosario
• 17. RHP Randy Vásquez
• 18. RHP Bryan Hoeing
• 19. LHP Yuki Matsui
• 20. RHP Sean Reynolds
• 21. C Luis Campusano
• 22. RHP Jhony Brito
• 23. RHP Alek Jacob
• 24. OF Tirso Ornelas
• 25. RHP Ryan Bergert
• 26. RHP Henry Baez
• 27. LHP Omar Cruz
• 28. OF Brandon Lockridge
• 29. LHP Tom Cosgrove
• 30. RHP Stephen Kolek
• 31. RHP Juan Nuñez
• 32. C Brett Sullivan
• 33. UT Tyler Wade
• 34. LHP Wandy Peralta