Yu Darvish breaks silence on lengthy Padres absence after return from restricted list

Yu Darvish is back with the San Diego Padres, though we may never know why he left in the first place.

The 38-year-old right-hander, who was placed on the restricted list in early July while he tended to “a personal matter involving his family," was reinstated by the Padres on Friday. During media availability, he declined to answer questions about the nature of his absence but expressed gratitude to be back with the club.

"It was a difficult decision to leave, obviously," Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie. "Things can get complicated sometimes. But, again, it's really good to be back. ... All in all, it's a great day."

Upon his return, Darvish was immediately placed on the 15-day injured list to give him time to return to form after several weeks away from the mound. If all goes well, he is expected to pitch for the Padres again before season's end.

Darvish gets right to work with bullpen session as he works toward return to Padres

Darvish threw a 27-pitch bullpen session ahead of Friday's game against the New York Mets and will continue to ramp back up toward game action. He is likely still weeks away from rejoining the Padres on a full-time basis.

In 11 starts earlier this season, Darvish posted a 3.20 ERA with 53 strikeouts and 15 walks in 56 1/3 innings. He missed time early in the year with a neck issue, then landed on the IL in June with a groin strain and faced a setback in his recovery as he dealt with inflammation in his throwing elbow.

The fact that Darvish is back from the restricted list when it was previously unknown if he would even return this season at least provides some clarity for a Padres team whose recent surge in the standings has catapulted them into the thick of the National League playoff race. Padres manager Mike Shildt confirmed (via MLB.com) that Darvish will be in the starting rotation when he's ready to come back, giving the Padres a theoretical postseason group of Dylan Cease, Joe Musgrove, Michael King, Martín Pérez and Darvish. That combination could do some serious damage in October.

More Padres content from Friars on Base