Alarms have been raised in the San Diego Padres camp over a sudden bout of “general fatigue” suffered by Yu Darvish. The issue has prevented him from training with the rest of the team’s pitchers. Although it is not an injury as such, he will be under observation and if conditions do not change, he will have to miss Opening Day and his start against the Atlanta Braves on March 27.
San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt said: “He’s experiencing general fatigue and we’ve reduced his activity a little bit at the same time we’re reevaluating his schedule.” In the preseason games, he showed to be in a good moment with participation of two to four innings at most and took a good count of pitches. “We just want to be smart to start a long season and rule out any illness.”
Yu Darvish’s return to the San Diego Padres pitching rotation
If he has to be placed at the end of the starting rotation, Yu Darvish could start the season until March 31 against the Cleveland Guardians. It is worth remembering that the Japanese pitcher was San Diego’s Opening Day starter last season, when he took the mound against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Seoul, South Korea.
Yu Darvish has made two starts in the Cactus League this spring, going 1-0 with a 4.05 ERA in 6.2 innings. He pitched 2.2 innings in a start on March 8 against the Guardians, and then pitched four innings in an outing on March 13 against the Kansas City Royals, with 54 pitches.
The scenario the San Diego Padres want to avoid
After the sudden fatigue, without showing symptoms of any respiratory or stomach illness, the San Diego Padres’ medical staff will closely monitor Yu Darvish’s progress. He has been given more rest time, a different diet than the rest of the team and monitoring of his physical condition. It is worth noting that in recent days, different federal and state authorities in the United States have announced the appearance of disease outbreaks in different states. Although for the moment, California has been exempt from these warnings
Last season, Darvish made 16 starts in 2024 due to elbow soreness, as well as hip and neck issues. He went 7-3 with a 3.31 ERA in 81.2 innings and shone solidly in the playoffs, where he finished 1-1 with a 1.98 ERA in two starts, ultimately leading to the series loss to the Dodgers.
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