Yu Darvish Says He Didn’t Recruit Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto to Padres

The Padres' offseason payroll purge didn't catch the veteran Japanese pitcher by surprise

Yu Darvish is closing in on the unofficial title of Best Japanese-born Pitcher in Major League Baseball History.

He currently leads his countrymen in Wins Above Replacement and strikeouts. A 20-win season would match Hideo Nomo's career total of 123. Two more seasons would allow Darvish to catch Nomo in innings pitched and games started. He's already lapping Nomo in ERA (3.59 compared to Nomo's 4.24).

At this stage in his career, Darvish could probably exert sizable influence in recruiting his countrymen to play for the San Diego Padres. Darvish is under contract through 2028 with full no-trade protection. What Japanese-born player wouldn't want an up-close seat to watch Darvish become the most accomplished pitcher in their country's history?

Maybe Shohei Ohtani or Yoshinobu Yamamoto would have relished the chance. However, Darvish recently disclosed that he did not recruit either player in free agency before they signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers.

"No, I didn't," Darvish said via an interpreter Monday at the Peoria Sports Complex, the Padres' spring training headquarters. "Obviously we were in the situation that we were in as an organization, financially, so we never got to that point."

Yu Darvish was asked his thoughts on the Dodgers signing several of his Japanese friends this offseason: pic.twitter.com/dUDRaleaBM

— 97.3 The Fan (@973TheFanSD) February 12, 2024

San Diego ran the league's third-highest payroll last season – in excess of $291 million for competitive balance tax purposes. Since then, they have shed salary by not resigning starter Blake Snell or closer Josh Hader, and trading slugger Juan Soto and center fielder Trent Grisham to the New York Yankees.

Meanwhile, their free-agent investments have been marginal. Woo-Suk Go and Yuki Matsui will ostensibly bolster the team's relief core, but neither is a star. The same could be said of left-handed reliever Wandy Peralta, whose four-year, $16.5 million contract was the Padres' largest commitment during the offseason.

This was by design. Citing "multiple people with knowledge of the Padres' rough plan for 2024," the San Diego Union-Tribune reported the team doesn't intend to incur a competitive balance tax this year:

The Padres will try to keep their payroll between $180 million and $190 million. They needed to cut costs and want to get a reset in regard to the competitive balance tax, which they have surpassed and incurred penalties for the past three years.

While fans might have been caught off-guard by the sudden change in direction, Darvish was not. Although he signed a six-year, $108 million extension in Feb. 2023, he didn't feel blindsided by the team's cost-cutting offseason.

"No, not surprised by that," Darvish told reporters through his interpreter. "Every year organizations go through different situations so, no, I was not surprised by that."

Ironically, the Padres' largesse in signing or re-signing Darvish – as well as stars like Manny Machado, Fernando Tatis Jr., Xander Bogaerts and Joe Musgrove – might have cost them a chance to sign Ohtani or Yamamoto.

While frustrating for fans, the 37-year-old Darvish has been around the game long enough to understand the business of baseball. At least by the time he shared his thoughts publicly, he appeared at peace with how the offseason played out. 

"Frankly speaking, it would have been nice if they had come here and they were my teammates," Darvish told reporters through his interpreter. "But I'm happy for them. They're on a very good organization so now I just look forward to playing against them as we go into the season."