Padres' Yu Darvish Thought He Would Have to Retire Amid Elbow Injury Concerns

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish thought he may have had to retire during his injury struggles which caused him to miss most of the first half of the 2025 season.

The Padres shut down Darvish in spring training with elbow inflammation, and had him on the injured list to start the season. He made a rehab start in May, however experienced tightness in his elbow after the outing and shut down throwing again. He also had problems in the same elbow during the 2023 season.

Darvish spoke with the San Diego Union-Tribune's Kevin Acee about how he wondered whether his career was over amid the ongoing issues with his elbow.

“Yeah, that was possible,” Darvish said. “But I didn’t give up. I kept working hard and believing I could come back. So that worked.”

Darvish made his return for the Padres July 7, and has made three starts since coming back. He has struggled through his first three appearances, allowing nine runs through 13.1 innings so far for a 6.08 ERA. Darvish has been fantastic since coming to the Padres, and clearly wants to come back strong this season.

“This is what I did since when I was eight years old,” he said. “I never study anything. Just play baseball. That’s why I need to do this. ...If I don’t love it, I’m not here. So I still love it for sure.”

The Padres need Darvish to step up in the second half, as they are in prime position to make the postseason and potentially overthrow the Los Angeles Dodgers at the top of the NL West, where they have been all season. The Friars have 2.5 games of breathing room in the Wild Card and have reduced the gap at the top of the division to just 3.5 games after trailing by nine just a couple of weeks ago.

They'll continue pushing for October baseball in the series opener against the Miami Marlins on Monday, which begins at 3:40 p.m. PT.

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