Padres announce Yu Darvish's long-awaited return to active roster

Once Yu Darvish rejoined the San Diego Padres after a long stay on the injury and restricted lists, fans have been eager to see him back on the mound. Even with guys like Joe Musgrove and Dylan Cease pitching very well, Darvish seems to be one of the players that makes up the heart of the Padres' roster, and getting him back gives them much-needed depth for the stretch run.

The only question is how long it would take for Darvish to get ramped back up. Darvish has been out since early June and, despite what fans think, it takes time to get back in game shape especially at his age and for how long he was out.

However, it appears as though good news will be arriving soon for Padres fans as manager Mike Shildt revealed that, barring the unforeseen, Darvish will start for the Padres on Wednesday.

Padres' plan is for Yu Darvish to return and start on Wednesday

There are some important caveats here. One, it is probably worth being cautiously optimistic regarding Darvish's return. Again, the guy has been out for three months and had some injury concerns before his absence became more of a personal one, so San Diego isn't going to take any chances if he doesn't feel right. Also, it feels likely that Darvish's first start back might be shorter than normal as he gets re-acclimated.

However, getting Darvish back should be yet another boost to this already formidable Padres roster. They already just activated Fernando Tatis Jr. from the IL on Monday. With Darvish's return, the Padres will basically be at full strength for the first time since early April. Given that guys like Michael King have started to show signs of fatigue lately, a (hopefully) healthy Darvish in the rotation is a big deal.

The trick here is that Darvish has to actually be productive upon his return and we won't know what he looks like until he faces MLB hitters. His extensive track record in the bigs should at least have fans feeling optimistic he can get get himself ready by the postseason.

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