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Yu Darvish update raises more questions than answers for Padres

Eric Cole
Eric Cole

Friars On Base

San Diego Padres v New York Mets / Adam Hunger/GettyImages

While the San Diego Padres have been on a roll of late, they certainly have some lingering questions for the rest of the 2024 season. Fans are eagerly awaiting news on when Fernando Tatis Jr. will return from his uncertain and unpredictable injury, but we at least know that he is on the mend. When it comes to Yu Darvish, however, there is far less information to work with.

Darvish went on the injured list at the beginning of June (along with Joe Musgrove, who recently returned) with a hamstring/groin issue. On top of that, his absence has been prolonged due to an undisclosed personal matter that has required his attention. It was telling that, despite being in line to make a bunch of money this year, Darvish was willing to be placed on the restricted list to save San Diego some cash while he remained away from the team. Beyond that, we have gotten little in the way of updates or information as to what the veteran pitcher is dealing with.

Luckily, the Padres did get some more information this week. It was revealed Darvish threw live BP and appears to be healthy, but there is still no timeline for when (or even if) he will return in 2024.

Yu Darvish's return timeline still a huge question mark for the Padres

Before landing on the injured list, Darvish was considered one of San Diego's rotation anchors. When he actually pitched he had performed well, with a 3.20 ERA with 53 strikeouts in 56.1 innings of work. If he is completely healed up and in good shape, there is no denying he would make San Diego an even better team the rest of the season.

Unfortunately, we just don't have enough information right now as to what to expect going forward. All that general manager AJ Preller and manager Mike Shildt have revealed is that they know Darvish is working while he is on the restricted list and they hope he will return this year, but the team is giving Darvish the space he needs to attend to this personal matter.

It's nice to see the Padres have been so supportive of him during what must be a tough time. However, it's certainly a bit problematic to wonder how he might perform upon his return to the mound and how it could impact the Padres' roster decisions during what is looking like a pivotal stretch run for San Diego in 2024.

Fans are hoping the long layoff for Darvish mitigates any of those concerns.

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Eric Cole

Eric Cole

I started my career writing about baseball covering the Atlanta Braves for SB Nation's Talking Chop back in 2015 which has since been renamed Battery Power. After years of writing for those fine folks, I made the decision to take over as Site Expert at House That Hank Built before becoming a full-time MLB Staff Writer for FanSided in 2023. Along the way, I have been a guest on multiple ESPN radio affiliates as well as 680 The Fan and 92.9 The Game to discuss Braves baseball and especially Braves prospects and was a long-time host on the Battery Power podcast. These days, I continue to write about the Braves as well as covering the Astros, Padres, and Angels with particular expertise with minor league coverage, the MLB Draft, and bashing Anthony Rendon when possible. When I am not writing about or talking about baseball (which is seldom), I am an avid baseball card collector (Maddux and Soroka being my primary personal collections) and I also collect shark teeth. All other sports are mostly dead to me as my Bills have broken my heart too many times.