Yu Darvish Not With Padres in Toronto Despite Plan For Him to Join Team

The San Diego Padres have been without veteran Yu Darvish since he was sidelined with elbow inflammation back in March.

From the presumed Opening Day starter to reports of fatigue in his throwing arm to an elongated IL stint, Darvish is trending toward a return, but isn't quite there yet. The plan from the veteran was to make his return to the team Tuesday, as the Padres start a three-game set against the Toronto Blue Jays, but manager Mike Shildt shed some more light on his ace needing more time.

“Darvish is doing well, recovering, playing catch, seeing what the next steps are,” Shildt said. “We’re evaluating day by day. So stay with us. … We’re taking it in a big view of the season.”

This is on par with the new plan from spring training to ensure Darvish is playing his best baseball in October.

President of baseball operations A.J. Preller last spoke in February about how important it is to have his right-hander in the postseason, especially after his two productive NLDS starts last season.

“At times for Yu-san, less is more,” Preller said. “And I think for us in terms of understanding, hey, the most important thing is what we saw last year when he was pitching in October. Yu Darvish in October is obviously a very talented and capable pitcher — seeing what he did in L.A. in two starts. So I think for us, it’s like understanding that, like, yeah, the World Series isn’t played in April or May. These games are important. But we’re gonna try and do everything we can … to make sure he is as prepared as he can to go perform at a high level.”

Darvish will soon embark on his 13th MLB season, but has so much more mileage than the average veteran pitcher. He missed the 2015 season due to recovery from a Tommy John surgery, and has pitched seven seasons professionally in Japan before making his way to MLB.

Darvish has already nade a rehab start in Triple-A, throwing four strikeouts in four innings. Although his 2025 debut has been heavily delayed, it will make his return that much sweeter for fans.

For more Padres news, head over to Padres on SI.