Padres Organization Did Not Expect WBC to Change Yu Darvish's Opening Day Start

Everybody that tuned into the San Diego Padres' home opener knows how the downfall all started. For those who didn't, let's rewind a little bit.

The score is 2-1 and it is top of the fifth inning. Blake Snell has had a solid game so far with nine strikeouts and he looks to capitalize on a few more batters before calling it a day. However, after allowing two more runners to get on base, Nabil Crsimatt came in for him and the Padres were down 7-2 before you knew it.

However, it was originally Yu Darvish who was supposed to be the opening day starter for the Friars. He has been with the franchise since 2021 and has proven to be one of their most reliable options. The WBC came in the way of these plans though and Darvish was not able to get the proper build-up necessary before the MLB's regular season and opted to not suit up on Thursday due to safety purposes.

San Diego's GM A.J. Preller spoke on the matter and revealed that while they fully supported Darvish during his time with Japan and understood why he couldn't take the mound on opening day, they were not expecting him to miss the first game back.

AJ Preller says Yu Darvish threw approx 5 innings, 80 pitches today. Should be on track to return end of week/early next.
— Marty Caswell (@MartyCaswell) March 30, 2023

"When you get into tournament baseball, a lot of things can happen," said Preller. "We've seen that with some of our players here this year so I don't think we thought he wouldn't be ready for opening day. As the tournament unfolded, we started looking at like 'Go enjoy your time there, go win a championship for Japan. Be a part of that team and we'll figure it out when you get back here." (Via Marty Caswell).

It is great to see the Padres fully supportive of Darvish looking to represent his country and helping them win the gold. The only blow was that Joe Musgrove was also unavailable to start due to a lingering foot injury.

However, the first game is now behind us and we move on. Blake Snell knows exactly what he must do to improve as does the bullpen.