Darvish placed on restricted list as Padres finalize OD roster
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SAN DIEGO -- Padres right-hander Yu Darvish was placed on the restricted list Wednesday as the team finalized its 26-man roster ahead of Thursday’s season opener against the Tigers at Petco Park.
Darvish is currently recovering from right elbow surgery which will force him to miss the 2026 season. He has three years remaining on his contract, though it remains unclear whether he will attempt a full-fledged comeback from that surgery. This move doesn’t seem to change that -- there’s been no indication that a retirement announcement from Darvish is imminent.
Players on the restricted list remain under contractual control of the big league club they play for. But they are no longer with the club, and they are no longer mandated to receive compensation. The reasons players can be placed on the restricted list are numerous and subject to MLB’s approval.
Essentially, Darvish is no longer with the Padres (though he still had his usual locker in the clubhouse at Petco Park as the Padres worked out on Wednesday). His absence frees up a 40-man roster spot -- which the Padres will use to add Ty France and Walker Buehler to their roster. (They entered the week with 39 places filled on their 40-man roster.)
It also might free up some significant payroll space, with Darvish slated to make $15 million in 2026. Teams are not required to pay players on the restricted list, and there’s no set amount of time that a player is required to spend on the list.
Darvish also agreed to be placed on the restricted list in 2024, while he dealt with what the team described as “a personal matter involving his family.” Darvish stepped away from the team for a few months and was reinstated toward the end of the season.
The circumstances are obviously different this time around, with Darvish set to miss the season anyway due to elbow surgery. He underwent UCL repair with an internal brace procedure on his right elbow in October. In January, after a report that he would retire, Darvish took to social media to refute the report.
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“You may have seen an article, and 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,” Darvish posted. “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.”
Darvish, who spent the World Baseball Classic with Team Japan but briefly checked in at Padres camp this spring, does not appear to have reached that point. But whenever that time comes, he’ll be heralded as one of the best pitchers of his generation. Across 13 seasons with the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs and Padres, he has gone 115-93 with a 3.65 ERA and 2,075 strikeouts. His 208 combined victories between MLB and Japan’s NPB are the most all-time.