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Darvish

The positive news here is that Darvish has already resumed throwing after being shut down last week with right elbow inflammation. The 38-year-old veteran doesn’t have a clear return timetable yet, but he should progress to throwing bullpen sessions and facing hitters in the near future, which would put him on track to return at some point before the end of May, if not sooner.

It’s an encouraging sign that Darvish has resumed throwing after being shut down last week with right elbow inflammation. The 38-year-old veteran doesn’t have a clear return timetable yet, but he should progress to throwing bullpen sessions and facing hitters in the near future, which would put him on track to return at some point before the end of May, if not sooner.

Not a huge surprise. Darvish was diagnosed with right elbow inflammation earlier this week, and it’s very uncommon to avoid a trip to the IL with this type of injury. The 38-year-old doesn’t have a concrete return timetable, so fantasy managers should be prepared for a long layoff, even if that’s not guaranteed. Randy Vazquez or Kyle Hart could be a replacement for Darvish to open the year.

Not good. Padres manager Mike Shildt told reporters Darvish is day-to-day and was able to play catch on Tuesday but didn’t rule out the possibility of Darvish requiring a trip to the injured list. It’s uncertain whether the 38-year-old veteran will be ready for the outset of the regular season with just over one week left until Opening Day. He’ll presumably undergo additional testing and imaging to determine the severity of the injury. There should be some clarity on his status at some point later this week, but given his lengthy injury history, a recurrence of elbow issues amplifies the risks involved with rostering Darvish in fantasy leagues.

Darvish was supposed to throw a bullpen session on Sunday and then start on normal rest on Tuesday, but both have been pushed after the 38-year-old hurler complained of arm fatigue. For now, the Padres are calling it a precautionary measure. If he doesn’t bounce back and can’t go by Thursday, the start of his season could be in jeopardy.

The 38-year-old hurler racked up four strikeouts on the afternoon while issuing a pair of free passes. The lone tally against him came in the second inning as Michael Massey smacked a leadoff triple and scored on a ground out. Darvish generated six swings and misses on 54 pitches on the day, posting a solid CSW of 31 percent. He featured eight different pitches in the contest and averaged 94.2 mph on his fastball — which is almost exactly where he sat during the 2024 campaign. For the spring, he holds a 4.05 ERA, 1.35 WHIP and a 7/3 K/BB ratio over 6 2/3 innings.

Darvish registered three strikeouts and only handed out one free pass. The 38-year-old veteran was limited to just 16 starts last year, so it’s been an extremely positive sign this spring that his fastball velocity — 94.4 mph in his Cactus League debut — has consistently been there. He generated seven swinging strikes, all of them coming on his secondary offerings, and got his pitch count to 57 (37 strikes) in his spring debut.

Darvish gave up three hits, walked one and struck out four. In one of the biggest games in Japanese baseball history, one that featured Darvish, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Shohei Ohtani, Darvish once again pitched well against the vaunted Dodgers offense. He allowed a home run to Enrique Hernandez on a first pitch fastball in the second inning, which was the only run in the game for awhile. In the seventh inning, Teoscar Hernandez took him deep for another solo shot. If the Padres had scored any runs, let alone had the lead, there’s a good chance Darvish wouldn’t have still been pitching. Instead, the Padres finished the series not having scored in the last 24 innings. It’s tough to win like that.

The Padres evened the series at 1-1 as they head home for Game 3 on Tuesday. Darvish struck out only three tonight, but he mostly produced soft contact and was aided by his defense, particularly when Jurickson Profar took a homer away from Mookie Betts. It’s the first time since May 19 that Darvish has completed seven innings. He improved to 5-6 with a 3.88 ERA in 12 career postseason starts.

Darvish struck out four and walked three tonight. Seven of the 14 balls in play against him were hit hard, but he was able to hold Arizona to a solo homer and two singles anyway. We don’t have a ton of faith in him at this point, but at least he only needs to be the Padres’ fourth starter in the postseason. He ends the regular season 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA.