The five-time All-Star, 37, went 8-10 with a 4.56 ERA and 1.298 WHIP over 136 1/3 innings this season.
In August 2018, an MRI revealed a stress reaction in Darvish’s right elbow, and the pitcher was shut down for the rest of what had already been an injury-plagued debut season for the Cubs. The following month, he underwent arthroscopic surgery. He rebounded in 2019 to pitch a full season for the Cubs.Five years later, it is too soon to know whether Darvish will need another surgery, though there are similarities surrounding the discovery of another stress reaction.
Darvish will now rest for five to six weeks in hopes that the time off will allow the stress reaction to heal.Also too soon to know, but it does add more uncertainty. Darvish has mostly performed well since the start of 2019, but he is 37 years old and now coming off his rockiest season since 2018. The Padres certainly envisioned a smoother start to his extension, which already looks like another questionable contract for a team with several of those.
If the Padres are to rebound from a massive failure of a season, they will need Musgrove and Darvish both near 100 percent by next spring — especially because