The San Diego Padres placed right-hander Yu Darvish on the restricted list Wednesday, finalizing their 26-man roster ahead of Thursday's season opener against the Detroit Tigers at Petco Park. This follows Darvish's January refutation of retirement rumors, where he indicated he was leaning toward voiding his contract while focusing on elbow rehab. Recovering from right elbow surgery, Darvish will miss the 2026 season, freeing a spot on the 40-man roster and potentially $15 million in payroll.
Darvish underwent UCL repair with an internal brace on his right elbow in October 2025 and has three years left on his contract. Placement on the restricted list, which does not require paying the player (subject to MLB approval), allows the Padres to add infielder Ty France and pitcher Walker Buehler after filling 39 of 40 spots. Players on the list remain under team control but are inactive and uncompensated; reasons vary.
This marks Darvish's second time on the list, after a 2024 stint for family reasons. In January, amid retirement speculation, he posted on social media that while leaning toward contract termination, details were pending with the Padres, and he was prioritizing rehab with hopes to pitch again if possible.
Darvish visited Padres spring camp after the World Baseball Classic. Across 13 MLB seasons with the Rangers, Dodgers, Cubs, and Padres, plus Japan's NPB, he holds 208 career victories, the most all-time.
