San Diego Padres: Ranking the 10 worst contracts in the NL West right now

6) Worst contracts in the NL West: Yu Darvish of the San Diego Padres

Yu Darvish is another player who was set to hit free agency following the 2023 season, but the Padres kept him around for the long haul. They inked the right-hander to a six-year deal worth $108 million. He was already making $18 million this season, so the extension was essentially five years for $90 million.

On the surface, that's not a bad deal for one of the best pitchers in the game. Darvish had a terrific season which saw him post a 3.10 ERA in 30 starts and 194.2 innings pitched in 2022 and and he even finished eighth in the NL Cy Young balloting.

This season has been a different story. He has a 4.19 ERA in 21 starts and 120.1 innings pitched. He's seen his walk rate shoot up from 4.8% last season to 8.0% this season, and he's seen opponents raise their average against him from .207 to .247.

Darvish has taken the ball almost every turn through the rotation and has given length most of the time, but he just isn't the same Cy Young caliber pitcher he was even last season. Considering the fact that he's clearly in decline at age 36 with another five years on his contract that doesn't feel like a good thing.