Breaking: Yu Darvish Returns to Padres; When Will He Pitch Next?

Valentina Martinez | Aug 23, 2024

May 29, 2024; San Diego, California, USA; San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish (11) pitches during the second inning against the Miami Marlins at Petco Park. Mandatory Credit: Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports / Denis Poroy-USA TODAY Sports

San Diego Padres right-handed pitcher Yu Darvish was officially reinstated from the restricted list on Friday. He's back — well, almost.

Darvish has been reinstrated from the restricted list and returned from the injured list. He will rejoin the team in San Diego on Friday.

Darvish hasn't thrown for the Padres since May 29 due to a number of groin and elbow injuries. At the beginning of July, he was placed on the restricted list because of a private family matter.

There was no timeline for the right-hander's return when he was first put on the restricted list. But Darvish was spotted throwing live batting practice at a local high school a couple weeks ago, which signaled his return was imminent.

The 38-year-old has a 4-3 record, a 3.20 ERA, and a 1.07 WHIP this season for San Diego. His return to the mound for the Padres is monumental. San Diego is on the hunt for the division lead in the National League West.

The Padres are 4.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers, but a key starter like Darvish back in the pitching rotation could be huge.

“He’s dealing with a personal matter involving his family,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said in July. “Clearly we want to respect his privacy. He wants to make sure everybody knows he’s physically in a good spot. He’s still working on his craft. But he is going to step away for right now and deal with some things on a personal level.

“We’re going to love and support him. He’s part of the Padre family. But at the moment, he’s going to take a break from the team.”

Padres infielder Matthew Batten was designated for assignment in order to make room for the return of Darvish.

The Padres acquired reinforcements at the trade deadline in light of the right-hander's absence; however, a majority of the newcomers play a pivotal role in the bullpen.

Following the trade deadline, the Padres arguably had one of the best bullpens in baseball, but the starting rotation was still full of question marks.

Darvish provides a much-needed veteran presence on the mound. The success of the rotation is directly correlated to the Padres' two All-Stars, Darvish and Joe Musgrove.

As of now, the Padres would make the postseason as a Wild Card team, which would set them up for a best-of-three series. However, with Darvish back, the team will be gunning for the NL West win.