Padres Insider Provides Optimistic Yu Darvish Update

The Athletic's Dennis Lin reports there is internal optimism among the San Diego Padres that Yu Darvish could make his season debut before July.

Darvish threw a bullpen on back-to-back days Monday and Tuesday, and is inching ever closer to his first start of 2025. After Tuesday's bullpen, Darvish said he was "getting better every day."

Darvish is on the 15-day injured list with shoulder inflammation, which he began feeling in spring training. The Padres shut him down March 13, then placed him on the injured list on March 27. He made one rehab start with Triple-A El Paso May 14, where he pitched four innings, allowing two runs on two hits and striking out four. After the outing, Darvish experienced another setback when he said he felt "tightness" in his elbow.

Darvish has been with the Padres since 2021, and has become one of their most reliable pitchers when healthy. He was an All-Star in his first season in San Diego, and had his best season with the Friars the year after, where he posted a 3.10 ERA through 194.2 innings to place eighth in National League Cy Young voting. He also suffered some injures last year, but had a 3.31 ERA through 16 starts.

Padres ace Michael King is also on the injured list, joining Darvish as of May 25 with a pinched nerve. The Padres rotation is now thinner than ever, and the Friars are in the midst of playing 26 games in 27 days.

“That’s a great question,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said when asked about how the Padres would navigate their crowded schedule. “I think the same answer would be applicable with those guys (as) without them. But it’s probably more important that what I’m about to say takes place, and that’s efficiency of playing the game well. When guys have Michael King’s stuff, Darvish’s stuff, you just typically have a little bit more margin for error.”

The Padres sit just one game behind the division-leading Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West, and will hope for the return of Darvish and King as soon as possible.

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