39-year-old Darvish undergoes elbow surgery, ruled out for the entire 2026 season

San Diego Padres' 39-year-old Japanese pitcher Darvish revealed on social media today that he had right elbow surgery last week, including the placement of an internal brace on the ulnar collateral ligament, resulting in his absence for the full 2026 season.

In his statement in Japanese, Darvish specified that the surgery was performed by Texas Rangers team doctor Keith Meister, confirming he will not play during the 2026 season and will dedicate himself fully to rehabilitation in hopes of returning to the mound. The English statement clarified that the procedure aimed to repair the flexor tendon and install an internal ulnar collateral ligament brace.

This marks the second time in Darvish’s career that he will miss an entire season. He previously sat out the 2015 season due to undergoing elbow ligament reconstruction surgery.

In recent years, Darvish has been plagued by injuries, with his last season starting over 25 games dating back to 2022. In the 2023 season, he pitched 136.1 innings with a 4.56 ERA but ended his season early in late August due to a right elbow bone spur. The following two seasons saw him suffer from thigh muscle strains and elbow inflammation, limiting his innings pitched each year to under 90. Over the past three seasons, he has pitched a total of 290 innings, averaging 8.9 strikeouts, 2.6 walks per nine innings, with a 4.41 ERA.

Before the 2023 season, Darvish signed a six-year, $108 million guaranteed contract extension with the Padres, roughly 768 million RMB, with his remaining three years’ salaries set at $15 million, $14 million, and $14 million respectively. He will be 40 and 41 years old during the final two years of this deal.

This season, Darvish ranked tied for fourth in starting appearances on the Padres. Notably, among the team’s five main starting pitchers, besides his confirmed absence for next season, Dylan Cease and Michael King will also become free agents.