Is Yu Darvish Retiring? Padres' AJ Preller Reveals Latest

One of the bigger storylines from the San Diego Padres' offseason was the news that veteran right-hander Yu Darvish would be missing the entire 2026 season due to injury. Darvish suffered an elbow injury, and he underwent surgery to have a UCL repair with an internal brace.

Once the news dropped, rumors started swirling that Darvish may be retiring from baseball. However, the veteran pushed back against that idea, saying that he was leaning toward opting out of his deal with the team but hadn't yet made a decision.

For now, Darvish remains with the Padres, and he was placed on the restricted list for this season. But Darvish could always retire if the recovery doesn't go as planned.

Padres president of baseball operations A.J. Preller revealed the latest update on the right-hander. Preller mentioned that the team was trying to be realistic with the veteran, but that he isn't retiring just yet.

"He's not saying that he's retiring," Preller said. "That's not where we're at. But for him, he's going to see how he comes back. He's coming back from a major surgery, a second surgery on the elbow. So I think he's realistic about where that leaves him. But Yu Darvish is a very special person, very special player, very unique. His situation is unique."

Over the last few years, Darvish has been one of the main pieces to the Padres' starting rotation, so losing him for the season was tough. San Diego's starting rotation is a mess right now due to injuries, and Darvish will be missed.

Last season, the veteran made 15 starts for the Padres, posting an ERA of 5.38. The 2025 season wasn't the best year for the right-hander, and he spent three months on the injured list dealing with elbow inflammation.

Preller continued in his update on Darvish, discussing the option for the veteran to return next season while praising him for his decision to help the organization financially.

"Somebody that’s thinking about the good of the organization, the team, the fan base, wanting to get back. And if you can’t put your heart into it, it would be very easy for him just to say, ‘You know what, I’m going to sit on the IL.’ And what that means for him from a compensation standpoint. He’s not doing that. He knows that his heart’s not quite into it. He’s going to continue with the rehab process and maybe we get to next year and he’s feeling in a different place and he wants to come back and give it a go," Preller said.

Nobody knows how Darvish will recover from the surgery, especially with him being 39 years old. But if he can keep pitching, the right-hander will likely try to do so.

Over his career, Darvish has been a lights-out pitcher for whatever team he's been on. The veteran is also the winningest all-time pitcher across both Japan and MLB with 208 wins, and he would love nothing more than to add to this accomplishment.