While Yu Darvish said he is "leaning towards" voiding his current contract with the Padres, both he and his agent refuted a report on Saturday that indicated the Japanese right-hander is retiring from baseball.
Darvish, 39, has three years and $46 million remaining on the six-year extension he signed with San Diego before the 2023 season. He will miss the upcoming season after undergoing UCL repair surgery with an internal brace on his right elbow in November.
About a month and a half after his surgery, Darvish expressed uncertainty about whether he would pitch in the big leagues again. After a Saturday report from Kevin Acee of the San Diego Union-Tribune indicated that Darvish had informed the Padres of his intention to retire, Darvish addressed his future once more.
"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 on social media. "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."
Later Saturday, Darvish further clarified his plan:
"Since there are reports about my retirement, I'll explain briefly," he posted. "I've been discussing with the Padres since last year about terminating the contract, but I haven't decided to retire yet. My own intention has been consistent since the start of the offseason, but at this point, discussions with the Padres, the players' association, and my agent haven't been finalized.
"As for me, 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."
Darvish's agent, Joel Wolfe, also denied the report of Darvish's retirement to MLB.com's Mark Feinsand.
“Yu has not made a final decision yet," Wolfe said. "This is a complicated matter we are still working through.”
Following seven standout seasons in Nippon Professional Baseball, five-time All-Star Darvish has pitched in the Majors since 2012. Across 13 seasons with the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs and Padres, he has gone 115-93 with a 3.65 ERA and 2,075 strikeouts across 1,778 innings.
Injuries limited Darvish in the past three seasons, in which he posted a 4.41 ERA and averaged 18 starts per year. He dealt with elbow issues for much of 2025, missing the first three months with elbow inflammation and opting for a rest-and-rehab approach rather than undergoing surgery back then.
With the majority of his recovery from his recent UCL repair still ahead of him, Darvish is focused on rehabbing for the time being. As he indicated, what his body is capable of will ultimately dictate the next steps in his professional career.
“We have been in regular communication with Yu throughout the offseason and his post-surgery rehab,” Padres general manager A.J. Preller said in a statement through a team spokesperson. “We have great respect for him and will continue to support him in his decision-making process.”