San Diego Padres rumors: Yu Darvish extended until age 42

The San Diego Padres gave Yu Darvish a six-year extension

Yu Darvish and the San Diego Padres came to an agreement that will keep the currently 36-year-old pitcher under contract through 2028 -- his 42-year-old year, ESPN's Jeff Passan reported on Thursday. Passan reports the deal is worth $108 million, or about 18 million per season.

In his first two years in the Padres' rotation, Darvish put up a 3.61 ERA in 361 innings while striking out 396 batters (about 26% of those he faced). He went 16-8 last year with a 3.10 ERA and finished eighth in National League Cy Young voting.

Darvish is projected to continue to be relatively strong in the first year of the deal. ZiPS sees him compiling 167 innings with a 3.83 ERA and 25% strikeout rate.

After putting together a great, though pricey, offseason, San Diego president and general manager A.J. Preller appears to want to keep the core of the team together for several years. Before the extension, Darvish was set to become a free agent after this season. Now he joins a fairly sizeable group of stars under contracts through at least 2027.

That includes the Padres' big offseason addition: shortstop Xander Bogaerts, at about $25 million per season. He'll join a roster with Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., and Joe Musgrove all inked for years to come.

Juan Soto's deal expires at the end of this season and is sure to be pricey, though the Padres seem content to continue an arms race with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

The team's projected Opening Day 40-man roster pricetag comes to more than $267 million, about $34 million above the competitive balance tax threshold, per Cot's Contracts. The Dodgers' CB tax rate is about $238 million, per Cot's.

The Padres likely aren't too worried about what comes next for Darvish. While he has been consistent, the over-40 club was mostly dominated by rare talents in past eras, and Darvish is unlikely to join that club.

But if he helps get San Diego to the promised land just once during the next few years, Preller and fans will likely be more likely to forgive the final years of the deal if they don't look quite as pretty.