Yu Darvish's availability for Blue Jays series clarified by Padres skipper

San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt confirmed on Sunday that veteran right-hander Yu Darvish won't pitch in the upcoming series against the Toronto Blue Jays.

Darvish is yet to make his season debut in 2025 as he deals with right elbow inflammation. He was put on the 15-day injured list at the start of the season and hasn't come up yet. However, he's closer to returning after throwing 51 pitches over four innings in a rehab start with Triple-A El Paso on May 14.

On Sunday, after the Padres were swept in the inaugural Veddar Cup against the Seattle Mariners, Shildt said that Yu Darvish won't travel to Toronto, as his recovery is ongoing.

"What I can tell you is he's going to continue to work on throwing and getting some other things taken care of, and he will not be pitching in Toronto," Shildt said (6:35 onwards). "It’s nothing that medically they’ve come up with. I mean, I think sometimes he wraps it — I don’t know, maybe he’s got a blister. I don’t. It’d be irresponsible for me to speculate.

"All I know is there’s nothing medically that they’ve brought to my attention that says, ‘Hey, he’s compromised in any way, shape, or form.’”

Mike Shildt says it won't be long before Yu Darvish returns

Yu Darvish is expected to be back on the mound before the month draws to a close. The four innings he pitched earlier this week were a sign that he likely needs only one more start before he's called back to San Diego.

“We’ll see how he goes through this one, how he recovers,” Mike Shildt said. “Then we’ll see what he wants to do, how he feels. But I don’t think Yu wants to spend a lot of time on rehab.”

“For sure, a 38-year-old guy that’s won 200-plus games, 3,000-plus punchouts, knows what he needs," Shildt added. "He gets to drive a lot of what we’re doing. So he’ll let us know. The stuff will let us know. Yu’s a very honest guy. He’ll be really clear about his ability to come back and be ready.”

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The Padres' schedule is loaded, as they are set to play 26 games in 27 days from May 30. Most of these games are against their divisional rivals, so a major shift in pecking order is expected in the NL West.

They play two series against the LA Dodgers and one each against the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Francisco Giants. As such, Yu Darvish's availability would be a major boost.

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Krutik Jain is a journalist who has been reporting on baseball at Sportskeeda since 2022. It was in 2018 when the baseball bug bit Krutik, and already a cricket fan, he credits baseball's rules and Clayton Kershaw's pitching to have hooked him to the game.

A Kershaw and Mookie Betts fan, Krutik rates his favorite team LA Dodgers triumphing over Tampa Bay Rays in the 2020 World Series as his best baseball moment so far. His answer to the perennial "one player from the past you could meet" question is Jackie Robinson. Despite never having seen him play, Robinson's impact, legacy and trail-blazing journey have left an indelible impact on Krutik.

A rigorous fact-checker, Krutik likes reporting on the technical aspects of the game as well as off-field elements. When not watching baseball, Krutik is busy playing cricket, staying up to date with the happenings around the world and hiking.

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Edited by Bhargav