7:05 pm: Darvish added in another statement that he and the Padres have discussed terminating his contract since last year, although discussions between those parties and the Players’ Association have not been finalized. He maintained that he wants to pitch again if his rehab goes well. “If I can thoroughly complete my rehab and feel confident that I can pitch in games both mentally and physically, I’d like to start over and compete from scratch again. As for this year, I plan to go to Petco Park for rehab as well, and also attend a bit of spring training.”
5:50 pm: Padres starter Yu Darvish is contemplating retirement, but he has not yet made a final decision. An initial report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune indicated that Darvish was retiring. Darvish’s agent, Joel Wolfe, refuted that, saying, “Yu has not made a final decision yet. This is a complicated matter we are still working through” (link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN).
Darvish addressed the situation through a statement on his X account. “Although I am leaning towards voiding the contract,” he said, “there’s still a lot that has to be talked over with the Padres so the finer details are yet to be decided. Also I will not be announcing my retirement yet. Right now I am fully focused on my rehab for my elbow, and if I get to a point where I can throw again, I will start from scratch again to compete. If once I get to that point I feel I can’t do that, I will announce my retirement.”
The 39-year-old right-hander is owed $43MM over 2026-28 from the extension he and the Padres signed in 2023. If he retires without reaching a settlement, he would forfeit that money. As Darvish indicated, he and the Padres may be working on a buyout that would see him keep some portion of his salary while giving the team significant cost savings over the next three years.
If he does decide to retire, he’ll be wrapping up an incredible 21-year career across Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball and MLB. In 2005, Darvish made his debut at age 18 for the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters in NPB. He pitched 94 1/3 innings over 14 starts as a rookie that year, following it up with a 2.89 ERA in 149 2/3 innings in 2006. The Ham Fighters won the Japan Series in the latter year, with Darvish making his first start in Game 1 and earning the win in the clinching Game 5.
From 2007-11, he was absolutely dominant, totaling 1,024 1/3 innings with a 1.72 ERA and 1,083 strikeouts. Darvish was an NPB All-Star in every season in that span, twice being named the Pacific League MVP (2007 and 2009) and winning the Sawamura Award (NPB’s equivalent of the Cy Young) in 2007. His final NPB season in 2011 was sensational. Darvish posted an 18-6 record in a career-high 232 innings with a microscopic 1.44 ERA, along with 276 strikeouts and just five home runs allowed all season.
Following the season, the Ham Fighters made him available to MLB clubs via the posting system. The Texas Rangers outbid the other suitors with a massive $51.7MM posting fee to the Ham Fighters (proportional posting fees not having been established yet). The team ultimately signed Darvish for a six-year, $56MM guarantee.
In his debut MLB season in 2012, Darvish pitched 191 1/3 innings over 29 starts with a 3.90 ERA, a 27.1% strikeout rate, and a stellar 46.2% groundball rate. He made his first playoff start in the AL Wild Card Game against the Orioles, pitching 6 2/3 innings with seven strikeouts and no walks but earning a tough-luck loss. He was valued at 4.7 WAR that year according to FanGraphs, which stands as the highest mark of his career to date. He also earned the first of five All-Star nods in the majors and finished third in AL Rookie of the Year voting.
His 2013 season was just as dominant. Darvish lowered his ERA to 2.83 in 209 2/3 innings as the Rangers’ ace and upped his strikeout rate to 32.9%. He earned his second All-Star nod and finished as the runner-up to Max Scherzer in the AL Cy Young vote, while his 277 strikeouts that year were the best of his MLB career. He was an All-Star again in 2014, but he was placed on the injured list with elbow inflammation in mid-August and missed the rest of the season. He experienced further soreness during Spring Training the following year and ultimately underwent Tommy John surgery, missing the entire 2015 season.
Darvish returned in May 2016 and picked up where he left off. In 100 1/3 innings over 17 starts that year, he posted a 3.41 ERA with a 31.7% strikeout rate and a 7.5% walk rate. He was a bit less effective the following year, with a 4.01 ERA in 22 starts before being sent to the Dodgers at the trade deadline in exchange for three prospects led by Willie Calhoun. Darvish’s strikeout and walk numbers improved in nine regular-season starts in Los Angeles, but he struggled in the World series against the Astros with subpar starts in Games 3 and 7.
Still, Darvish’s track record as a front-of-the-rotation arm made him a top target in free agency. In February 2018, he signed a six-year, $126MM deal to join the Cubs. He wound up spending 2018-20 on the North Side. He struggled with injuries and ineffectiveness in 2018, pitching just 40 innings over eight starts. He rebounded in 2019 with a 3.98 ERA and a 31.3% strikeout rate in 178 2/3 innings. In 12 starts during the COVID-shortened 2020 season, he was utterly dominant with a 2.01 ERA and just a 4.7% walk rate, finishing second in the NL Cy Young vote.
The Cubs traded Darvish to the Padres that December, and he has been with San Diego ever since. Darvish’s strikeouts began to wane in his mid-30s, but he compensated by improving his control. From 2021-25, his walk rate sat in the 6% range and never topped 7.5% in a season (2023). His best Padres season to date was in 2022, as Darvish made 30 starts with a 3.10 ERA and a 20.8% K-BB rate, the latter being ninth-best among qualified starters.
The club was confident enough in his performance to extend him heading into 2023. The deal was for six years and $108MM, of which five years and $90MM were new money. In the first three years of that deal, Darvish has made 55 starts with a 4.41 ERA while struggling with injuries. He made five trips to the IL from 2024-25, most recently for an internal brace procedure on his throwing elbow this past October. While coming with a shorter recovery period than a second Tommy John surgery, Darvish was still set to miss the entire 2026 season regardless.
In an interview last month, Darvish indicated that he was focused on getting healthy and returning to pitching, though a later report from Acee indicated that retirement was on the table. This latest update suggests that Darvish is contemplating the end of his career, but that he is still open to returning if his rehab goes well. Further details could be made public soon, pending the outcome of his talks with the Padres.
Photo courtesy of David Banks, Imagn Images
Pardon?
Congratulations, Yu, on a distinguished career here and abroad.
He won me over when he lost game 7 against the Astros then took all the press questions
The fact he’s forfeiting so much money and just shrugs his shoulders. Yu is a legend
Lol! “This is a complicated matter we are still working through,” said Wolfe. Forfeiting what money?
Read other reports saying it’s not done yet but would be forfeiting most of the salary he’s owed. Think it’s mostly deferrals and bonuses that are the complicated matter.
Yu has seven kids. Maybe he can cut a deal that the $43 million is still paid but deferred about twenty years?
Such a stand up guy even entertaining giving the Pods a rebate. Just needs some walking around cash for foodstuffs and plushies and validated parking and he’s off. Happy retirement good sir and look forward to solid penmanship and an entertaining social media read. He’s like the anti Schilling
@bigdaddy Curious how bonus $ would matter? As far as I know the only bonus $ was if he were to win CYA. I believe none of the contract was deferred either. Even if it was all $ already deferred is not up for negotiation.
That said the remaining 3 yrs some of the $ due later could ve deferred lowering the total amount owed at todays value. This would lower tax hit for SD and a portion of the $ would be paid in accrued interest opposed ti by them.
Sounds to me as though he might be done with the rigors of injury rehab. Also seems as tho he wants to pitch to some extent tho. Kind of think he wants to retire but wants to end it with a swan song at home in Japan.
He’s got a quarter billion banked. He can afford to shrug.
I agree… Legend!
Sounds like a deferral settlement is in the works. A clear instance where such a deal is a good thing for all parties and baseball, not mainly a luxury tax avoidance scheme.
Perhaps after seeing J-Ram’s deal this becomes far more common and team owners of small market teams see it as how they can more easily afford higher priced talent
Sounds like he no longer has his heart in it.
Darvish has a museum in his honor in Japan. He is the 3rd highest paid player off the field in MLB. If he retired today, he would still make $8-10 million per year in endorsements and partnership income off the field for the foreseeable future. This guy has food in grocery stores with his picture on them and Yutrition a supplement line he “supervises” has annual sales of over $100 million in Asia. Other than Nike and Asics, he partners with companies rather than just receiving an endorsement check.
Then you have his wife Seiko Yamamoto and her 4 Gold Medals who may have more earning power than Yu does. Talk about a power couple.
Oh, and never diss Yu. She is not only a champion wrestler, I think she also has a black belt in Jiu Jitsu.
I somehow don’t believe he is all that worried about losing the income. I think he is more worried about tarnishing his legacy by not being able to compete at the highest level.
That was really well said.
Thanks Web
Great player, hope he makes it back to go out healthy.
Yuuuuuuu
Wow. Must be tired of the rehab. Good career.
Excellent career!
He holds the record for the starting pitcher needing the fewest starts to reach 1500 K’s. He did so in around 10 fewer games than Randy Johnson.
I hope he stays in the Padres organization as a pitching guru.
Great piece of trivia, thanks!
He hasn’t even started the throwing part of rehab.
A fascinating career and a fascinating player.
Yeah, I agree. Real honesty, from a legend. I wouldn’t count him out.
Yu kidding!
Seriously, nice career here, congrats and good luck on whatever is next.
Seriously not kidding, I was reading about Cutch, reflecting on his incoming retirement.
Refreshed the page, and saw “Yu Darvish To Retire”.
They changed the headline fairly quickly.
Wow… he left a decent amount of change on the table ($46 mil). That’s pretty noble of him. Too bad it might be too late for the Padres to use it now. Enjoy retirement Yu.
Framber Valdez
Bring back Arraez
Take a flier on Goldy
Sigh Bassitt Gallen
Sign someone like Justin Turner to DH
Bring in Tauchmann as a 4th OF
Plenty of ways to spend that money to improve them
@Dropped
I was thinking of them repurposing his $16 mul salary. I doubt they can get Valdez for that.
No on arraez. Love his attitude, drive, as a teammate. But only plays power positions and you need 20-30hrs from 1st and DH these days
“Yu Darvish Contemplating Retirement, Has Not Made Final Decision”
“7:05pm” update
“5:50pm” update: Padres starter Yu Darvish is contemplating retirement, but he has not yet made a final decision
You Darvish is one of the most media savvy people in MLB. If he was retiring, he would have announced it himself. As a couple of Padres fans on here have already said, Acee is not a credible source of information.
See that’s the funny thing about rumors
They spread like wildfire and are hard to control sometimes
The original version said Darvish was announcing his retirement. You can tell what was published based on comments made
“ Wow… he left a decent amount of change on the table ($46 mil). That’s pretty noble of him.” only leaves change if he officially retires
“ Thanks for your contributions to the Friars…best of luck in moving into the front office!”
“ There’s no way he would leave money on the table like that. There must be some sort of deal in place.”
“ Love a guy that does not hang on for the money”
Once rumors popped up Darvish and his team countered them and here we are currently
Imagine that. Articles updating information as it becomes available. Novel idea.
Maybe that’s why there’s a time stamp of 705pm and 550pm…..cause the article was updated
It wasn’t a rumor. It was Kevin Acee reporting something that he knows nothing about.
Oh you mean acee heard rumors of retirement and Darvish and published a his own rumor that Darvish was set to retire instead of Darvish was contemplating retirement because he didn’t have all the details?
Yeah. Thats how rumors usually go. You don’t hear all the details and in an effort to be the “first to report a story” you publish what you heard
A very fine example of this was Ohtani is on a plane to Toronto
Had a great career in MLB with 2000+ strikeouts. Most strikeouts thrown by a Japanese pitcher so far. Loved him Texas. Happy retirement, Yu.
Good question, I’m not sure.
He’s probably very injured at this point, especially entering his Age-40 season.
He was out for all of 2026, so he would have returned at age 40-41. Shame that he can’t pitch in the World Baseball Classic due to his injury.
If he actually retires? No, he forfeits any remaining money. It doesn’t sound like he intends to sit on the IL for two years and there’s no mention of a buyout so perhaps he is actually walking away
They’ll probably come to some agreement where he’ll still get the money. That’s likely why I the agent says they haven’t decided yet.
Not a hall of famer so don’t even start debating that nonsense.
Over 3300 K’s between the MLB & NPL, 209 wins.
Fastest MLB starter to 1500 K’s (10 starts fewer than Randy Johnson).
10.5 K’s/9 is 9th best in MLB history. Sandwiched between Randy Johnson and Pedro Martinez.
Personally I think his work in Japan shouldn’t be ignored when looking at his career as a whole and his hall worthiness.
He’s been the most accomplished Japanese born pitcher in MLB history, with a bWAR over 50% higher than Hideo Nomo, the 2nd ranked pitcher.
With how important Japan is in the MLB today, it will be interesting to see how Darvish is viewed come eligibility time.
Great player, but probably a better person and they don’t get much humbler than him.
I’d put him in, no question about it.
I don’t believe the HoF voters can consider performance in foreign leagues, but they certainly don’t have to limit their evaluations to performance. Based on his MLB performance alone, Darvish is an edge case. Based on his impact on the teams for which he played, his sportsmanship and his character (the actual induction criteria), he is a better case. Not that anyone really cares about the real criteria. Even the sportswriters who vote seemingly don’t.
There are no rules against considering NPB performance in HOF voting rules.
“Voting shall be based upon the player’s record, playing ability, integrity, sportsmanship, character, and contributions to the team(s) on which the player played.”
Likewise, no rule allows it. This is the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. By your interpretation, a player could be considered for inclusion even if he never played in MLB. Good luck selling that proposition.
But as I said, nobody really cares about actual the induction criteria anyway. I guess you are just trying to prove my point.
Just giving the wording. Nothing says they can or can’t.
A strange concept. Run with it.
I feel sad 😞 we should have won game 5 for him in 2024.
Thanks for your contributions to the Friars…best of luck in moving into the front office!
Congrats to Darvish. Solid career in two countries.
Walking away from 43 million dollars and 3 years left
Congratulations Yu on a fantastic career. You’ll be missed.
See that’s the funny thing about rumors
They spread like wildfire and are hard to control sometimes
The original version said Darvish was announcing his retirement. You can tell what was published based on comments made
“ Wow… he left a decent amount of change on the table ($46 mil). That’s pretty noble of him.” only leaves change if he officially retires
“ Thanks for your contributions to the Friars…best of luck in moving into the front office!”
“ There’s no way he would leave money on the table like that. There must be some sort of deal in place.”
“ Love a guy that does not hang on for the money”
Once rumors popped up Darvish and his team countered them and here we are currently
Always loved using Darvish in fantasy. He’s had a tough the last few years, though. All the best to him in retirement.
I guess we spoke too soon…hmmm…
Voluntary Retirement: If he decides he cannot play and officially retires, the remaining $46 million (roughly $16M in 2026, $15M in 2027, and $15M in 2028) would likely come off the Padres’ books, providing them with financial relief.
Injury/Buyout Option: Because he is currently rehabbing from major elbow surgery (UCL and flexor tendon repair) following a difficult 2025 season, it is possible for him to negotiate a settlement or simply stay on the injured list.
Other Options: Rather than a simple retirement, Darvish and the Padres might explore a potential buyout or a transition into a special advisor/front-office role, which could allow him to collect some compensation, notes
Darvish earned the contract, and was injured while playing under its terms. He could have just continued to rehab and collected everything that was owed no matter if he pitched again or not.
Usually in these circumstances there is some form of buyout. The least likely option is that he simply walked away from all the money that was owed, but who knows? Not my business to worry about it.
Congrats Yu – you were a terrific pitcher for a long time.
Yu says in his statement that he has not retired yet, he is just leaning towards that option.
@skip – I would be leaning a bit more heavily into retirement if someone wanted to stroke me a check for about $5M to continue my rehab…
Exactly – Bassitt or Giolito or Valdez to SD now ala Pivetta deal last year.
Players association being involved is what muddies the waters –
Not really Yu (although he is not wanting to turn his back on players Union though).
Have to make a deal that Union won’t throw a fit over.
There’s no way he would leave money on the table like that. There must be some sort of deal in place.
Maybe he chose family -or something else more important- over money
He’s negotiating a buyout. He will take less than the full amount due so he can stop rehabbing and go back to Japan. That’s what this statement means: “Although I am leaning towards voiding the contract, there’s still a lot that has to be talked over with the Padres so the finer details are yet to be decided.”
If he intended to retire and forfeit all remaining money there would be no “fine details” to be decided.
He’s not stopping rehab or going back to Japan. He’s said in the last day or two that he’s still hoping to come back to MLB. And his kid just signed to pitch for UC-San Diego starting next fall. My guess is he signs some sort of deferral that allows him to rehab with the Padres and come back if/when he’s ready and, if not, he’ll transition to something in the Padres front office.
Yu said in his statement that he was going to rehab at Petco and even in spring training. He lives in San Diego full time and visits Japan, not the other way around.
We hardly knew Yu.
Helluva career. If it weren’t for injuries, who knows what his numbers would have been. Best Japanese born pitcher in MLB history as of today?
Congrats on a great career!
The only retired pitcher in the running would be Nomo.
It’s Yu and it’s not even close:
baseball-reference.com/bio/Japan_born.shtml
Unfortunate news for those hoping to sign Framber Valdez. As this could make the Padres more of a contender for his services.
I think most fanbases are like, that’s ok you can have him…
I am sure you are right. Most fan bases don’t want Ace pitchers. There are probably a few that say “he is only a top 10-15 pitcher in baseball, so we will take him even though he had one time that fans but not the catcher thought he was being a jerk to his catcher.”
The sarcasm is strong with this one.
He has been a good role model for young Japanese players headed to the states. Congrats on a solid career.
Yu’s humility when he passed Hideo Nomo in strikeouts was just another example that he truly exuded class.
Aloha Larry, agree with you 100% in regard to Yu-san! A real ambassador for the game both in Japan and here in the states. Will be missed! Gunbarenasu Yu-san! Arigatou Gozaimasu! Mahalo
Yu gotta be kidding us. Been a pretty solid all the way through. Thank Yu
Love a guy that does not hang on for the money
Thanks for all the memories and what you brought to SD yu
Hopefully Yu can continue on in the front office or coaching with padres in some capacity
So what does this mean for the padres financial outlook going forward
The report from the San Diego Union Tribune indicates he will “give up much” of what he is owed.
IOW, if he retires, he will get a buyout.
Absolutely legendary career and if he’s leaving the money behind, he’s thinking about the team which is an honorable thing to do. Roy Halladay did the same. His abilities and health diminished and he retired early and gave up the remaining money because he wasn’t going to earn it.
A class act, I wish him well and yes, as a Dodger fan, I’m the first to admit our fans should have been kinder to him.
It’s fine man. We all accepted a long time ago that your fan base was full of dbags. You seem ok though.
As Reggie Jackson, Mr. October, once said: “They don’t boo nobodies”.
I like Yu the person, but he was brutal that World Series. I read somewhere that he was the only starter to make multiple starts in a single World Series and not complete 2 innings in either start. He completely no showed.
The cheaters said he was tipping his pitches. And they wouldn’t lie, of course.
I was extremely disappointed in our fans after the WS. I always thought he had to have been tipping pitches or something and was hoping that offseason that he’d get another shot (with us) at correcting 2017.
Really helps out SD payroll wise.Wonder if they might now be play for Framber.
Hopefully the team and he can agree on a role in the FO for him. He is a Padre. I don’t care who else he played for.
If injuries hadn’t sidelined him, his career numbers would’ve been much better.
not if he retires, i believe.
Three years $48 million on the table
He’s retiring, I think Darvish and The Padres are working out some sort of restructuring/buyout of his contract. Either way, he’ll be paid something just not the $43-46 million. Just sucks that his last moment as a Padre was starting an elimination playoff game with no elbow which again begs the question why he was pitching let alone starting in that game
Darvish always struck me as a classy guy. He’ll do what’s right for himself.
Your name made me lol HARD haha
Something I’ve always kind of wondered about retiring in major league baseball. I know it’s forbidden but wouldn’t be shocked if this has happened in the past. Other than legal and moral issues, what is stopping an MLB team from paying an injured or underperforming player to retire, under the table? That way the guy still gets payed and it doesn’t count towards payroll. I imagine it would be pretty easy to get away with.
I remember buying tickets behind the bullpen to watch Yu warmup in his very first game with The Rangers. I was absolutely thrilled to be a part of baseball history and witness the greatest Japanese hitter, Ichiro, face the greatest Japanese pitcher in Yu Darvish… as a part of The Rangers!
I loved going to Darvish starts and hearing Soulja Boy Crank That blaring, what a vibe. He would sometimes throw from both the left and right side when warming up or bullpens. Every time Darvish was on the mound in 2013, it felt like he was capable of a no-hitter. He finished second in Cy voting that year, but still quite possibly the greatest individual year for a Ranger starter.
I got to see many Darvish starts in person, and got to see all of his 8 plus pitches. When he didn’t have his best control or most electric stuff, Yu would dig deep and give you innings and keep you competitive. What a warrior. What a career and individual. Thank you for all the great memories Yu!!
What great memories of a great player.
he still does the soulja boy
Wolfe’s comments translated sound like “Hey wait, if you retire and give up all that money, I don’t get paid.”
Awesome of Yu. And I won’t say it’s good news for the Padres, I don’t think any team wants players to get hurt. But this should really help them to stay competitive as a small market team, in the same division as the Dodgers. I am a Dodgers fan, and no, the Padres and Dodgers don’t have a rivalry like Giants and Dodgers do.. but what’s gone on over the last few seasons has been fun to watch, and hopefully this keeps the Padres iron a little deeper in the fire.
Get on with it. The team still has needs and there’s still something to scrape off the barrel.
San Diego should immediately send their 3 or 4th best starter and 4 of their best prospects to Philadelphia for Taijuan Walker and Nick Castellanos.
I think we’d rather send our starting lineup to Tijuana and have them drink the water.
@gwynning – Just hold on for a second. Charitable contributions are a write-off, as well as the right thing to do when one has an over supply of good prospects. Plus, both Taj and Casty might be best served if they have access to nicer weather. I think that the Friars should give this one some serious consideration.
Of course you would! Haha I may have been born but it wasn’t yesterday, Carver! Haha 🤙🏽
Wait… it went from “ he’s retiring” to “ he’s contemplating” retirement “, that’s kind of two very different things, the latter including agent and family who may well “weigh in with “ have you lost your damn mind? Do you see how much $$$$ you’re leaving in the table?”.
Went from news to nothing has changed. He said all this months ago
Musta been a slow news day for Kevin Acee of SDUT. Not sure why SDUT still has him around and why MLBTR uses his articles for their posts.
He announced he’s retiring if you read the Acee article. Not sure why mlbtr has contemplating in the title
No he didn’t. Acee is right up there with Heyman.
Yeah, Yu has clarified the article not to be the truth.. Agree about Acee
I agree, Acee is so bad. You can tell the players don’t like him either.
Though with additional input from the Darvish camp this afternoon, it does appear a buy out is in the works.
They could construct a buyout for the current contract and if he feels as though he can compete in the future he could unretire, perhaps not even officially retire. I believe that’s what needs to be done
Whatttttt? Acee jumping to conclusions and misreporting *something*???
>clutches pearls in disbelief<
Brew, Yu said he was thinking about it. That a decision will not be made until he knows if he can still throw. I rarely see anything from Acee quoted on here that turns out to be true. You are a Padres fan and know more about Acee than we do in other parts of the country. Is he ever correct?
Yeah we’ll just wait for Darvish to take his time while we miss the opportunity to sign any remaining decent pitchers setting up the team for a lackluster season. It’s cool I still love Yu.
He said more Skip. Said he might decide to void the contract, then if his recovery goes well, would consider a return. Very good for team. Classy dude.
Skip – twice a day, just like the broken clock!
“A report from Kevin Acee…….” Yeah, that’s not saying much. How does the SDUT keep him around as a Padres beat writer?
His bs gets clicks, I guess!
But not chicks, obviously
Class act dude. Always welcome to Chicago ,pitched awesome for the Cubs.
“The Ham Fighters won the Japan Series in the latter year…”
His Japanese team isn’t called the “Ham Fighters”; it’s called the Nippon-Ham FIGHTERS. Nippon-Ham is the team’s sponsor.
What’s next, fighting bacon?
Seems like he retired a few years ago?
Awesome dude. Hope he ends up working for the Padres. And his son becomes a pitcher in the organization. And that he helps to bring elite Japanese talent to the Padres.
They are not the “Ham Fighters.” The team is sponsored by “Nippon Ham” and the team is the “Fighters.”
It’d be a bit like calling the Mets the York Mets or the Dodgers the Angeles Dodgers.
This would be a huge loss for MLB.
Darvish….What are YU thinking? The world wants to know!
There is not a bad word to be said about this man. Supremely talented, gifted, only matched by his humbleness.
Agreed. Cheers amigo. 🍻
What is the stand-up move by Darvish? I hate to see you go, but Yu the man.
Reminds me of the Strasburg situation.
“I’m retiring! WAIT, NOT LIKE THAT, I STILL WANT MY MONEY!”
LOL!
Of course he pitched bad in the series the cheating astros new what was comming
Isn’t it just the “Fighters”? Nippon Ham is their (old? possibly still?) sponsors. They’re not fighting Ham.
If Darvish does retire he can do so knowing he has been the best Japanese pitcher in MLB so far. What a great career!
Always a class act, Yu and you. Cheers Skip!
And this is once again why it’s not a good idea to sign a pro athlete to a long-term extension into his 40’s.
Darvish’s original NPB team was (and still is) Fighters, not Ham Fighters. Nippon Ham Company has been owning the team since the 1970s. When they relocated the franchise from Tokyo to Sapporo, they changed team’s name from Nippon Ham Fighters to today’s Sapporo Fighters.
Until quite recently, owner companies of NPB teams put company names, instead of city names, on team names. In the 1980s, Bob Green, I think, wrote a column piece “The mystery of Ham Fighters.”
My guess, he won’t retire without being hired. He’s the next and very first Japanese MLB manager.
He may get paid some of it, but if he quits, can you really say he earned it?
He isn’t pitching this year and the 27 season is for sure not happening. So it would be 28 before he pitched again and that’s assuming the 28 season starts.
Not sure how much lockout plays into this but it should to some degree. I think his age and initial belief that he probably wouldn’t complete the contract, along with the surgery / missing 26, is the driving force.
Not a fan of Kevin Acee’s reporting
No one besides Acee and maybe the SDUT is.
It’s insane how much stuff he just makes up. He likes writing the false stuff to get people riled up and get attention and clicks. He is less a reporter than a click chaser.
Yu said that he may void his contract, not that he is retiring. He is working on something with the Padres and the MLBPA that would allow the team to pay him some of what he is owed and allow Yu to void the rest. He plans to be at Petco rehabbing all year, not all season, and even at spring training. He said that once his rehab progresses to that point, if he feels he can still pitch at the same level he is used to that he would work out a new contract then. If there was ever a player you can absolutely love as both a player and a man, Yu is that guy. He just does everything the right way. Everything.
If what you’re saying is true, the Union won’t be down. Maaaaaaybe an agreement can be worked out for him to exit his current contract for an opportunity to pitch in Japan. No way they’ll let him relieve the Pobres of their financial commitment to him, only to let him rehab with them and ostensibly resign him at a discount ‘once he feels he can be his old self again..’
I. didn’t read anything he said to mean he will negotiate a “new contract “ after settling his old one
He said he was working toward a deal that would allow him to void his contract, then after rehabbing if he thinks he can still pitch, he would start from scratch. I don’t speak Japanese, but friends that are from there said that he was saying that he would do the honorable thing and void his deal and then if he thought he could pitch again, start out on a new contract.
agent: “This is a complicated matter“
8 billion people: “It’s not”
One of the best pitchers in Texas Rangers history. I’d say top 10 in there franchise.
Maybe Darvish is taking a page out of Gil Meche’s book and deciding to be a decent person?
Yu has been more than a decent person for a long long time.
I get the point you were trying to make though.
Wow, if he does really retire early the Padres sure lucked out. Most players in that situation would have just collect the money while playing half-heartedly.