Quote from sharonorn on November 4, 2025, 7:50 pm

Padres right-hander has recently been slowed in camp. While it was initially conveyed that he had some general fatigue, manager Mike Shildt today provided a more specific and more ominous diagnosis. The skipper told members of the media, including , that the veteran righty experienced elbow inflammation after his last start. Shildt stopped short of saying Darvish would start the season on the injured list, describing him as day-to-day. Opening Day is just over a week away, so its a tight window. Any time a pitchers throwing elbow is involved, its a cause for some concern. Yanquiel Fernandez Jersey In the case of Darvish, there may be even more concern than with some other hurlers. Darvish has dealt with some elbow problems in the past. Tommy John surgery wiped out his entire 2015 season. He was largely health for years after that, though he hasnt logged a huge workload in the past two seasons. He was capped at 24 starts and 136 1/3 innings in 2023. He landed on the IL in late August due to right elbow inflammation and stayed there to finish the year. In 2024, he only made 16 starts and to sed 81 2/3 innings. He mi sed time due to neck tightne s, a groin strain, some more inflammation in that throwing elbow and an undisclosed personal i sue. That makes this the third straight season that Darvish has battled some elbow inflammation. For a pitcher who is now 38 years old, thats le s than ideal. Its especially worrisome since rotation depth is one of the key i sues on the San Diego roster. The Friars already lost for the entire season, as he required Tommy John surgery in October. Losing Musgrove left the Padres with a rotation core of Darvish, and . They signed to fill one of the back-end spots. Coming into camp, candidates for the final spot including , , and . However, Waldron is out of commi sion due to an oblique strain. Hart has also been delayed by the flu and is behind the rest of the group in terms of building up. If Darvish needs to mi s some time at the start of the season, that would seemingly leave two spots open behind the King/Cease/Pivetta trio. If its just a short-term absence, the overall group could look stronger in a few weeks, with both Waldron and Darvish perhaps back in the mix. A more serious i sue would naturally have bigger impacts. Both Cease and King are impending free agents. That means Pivetta and Darvish are the on-paper rotation nucleus for 2026. Musgrove could be back in the mix by then but may have some workload i sues after mi sing all of 2025. Darvish is still under contract through 2028, as part of the extension he signed with the club in 2023. Its also po sible this could impact the trade market. San Diego has notable budgetary concerns and various parts of the roster they would like to upgrade. That has led to rumors about Cease or King being available, though Ceases name has come up far more often. It would be a tricky balance for San Diego to strike, as they would have to feel that reducing their rotation depth is worth it for multiple upgrades at left field, first base or designated hitter. Presumably, Darvish being hurt would reduce the chances of a Cease deal in the short term, as it would be even harder to justify a rotation subtraction. Closer to the deadline, that calculus could change if the Padres dont manage to compete. As mentioned, both Cease and King are impending free agents and would be natural trade candidates this summer if San Diego slips behind the other National League contenders. Photo courtesy Mark J. Rebilas of Imagn Images Drew Romo Jersey
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