"Wow, you're not going to take this?"' 3rd Surgery Day Darvish Abandons 22.6 Billion Salary "Rehabilitation Commitment → No Retirement yet"

*This content was translated by AI.

Darvish Yu (39, San Diego Padres), a right-hander from the Japanese national team who touched his elbow as many as three times in his career, made a decision that surprised everyone. In order to ease the financial burden on the team during rehabilitation, he decided to give up his salary for the 2026 season, which is worth $15 million (about 22.6 billion won).

The San Diego club officially announced on the 26th (Korea Standard Time) that it had listed Darvish on the "Restricted List." According to U.S. sports media The Athletic and ESPN, the list of restricted players is often raised for disciplinary reasons such as drunk driving or drug use, but Darvish's decision was made in agreement with the club.

In November 2025, Darvish underwent his third elbow surgery (UCL and flexor reconstruction) after 2015 and 2023, virtually confirming his absence for the 2026 season. According to Major League Baseball regulations, he chose to go to the restricted list by himself in agreement with the club, even though he could receive the full salary if he stayed on the injured list (IL). As a result, San Diego will be able to save the $16 million payroll that was supposed to be paid to Darvish.

Darvish signed a large contract worth $108 million (about 159.9 billion won) with San Diego for a six-year contract ahead of the 2023 season. The contract with San Diego runs through the 2028 season. If Darvish was aiming for income, he could have collected more than 20 billion won during the rehabilitation period, but he chose to lay down his rights to win the team. The Athletic said, "Darvish's decision will secure flexibility in recruiting Lucas Giolito (32), a free agent starting pitcher resource."

He also rejected rumors of retirement. Darvish recently said on his SNS, "Right now, I'm only putting all my energy into elbow rehabilitation," adding, "If I can throw the ball again, I'll compete from the bottom again, and if I decide that I can't be a pitcher, I'll announce my retirement myself." made clear In other words, 2026 was set as a 'preparation period for revival' rather than a 'year of rest'.

In fact, Darvish's performance in the 2025 season was 5-5 with a 5.38 ERA in 15 games. Due to elbow inflammation, he played his first game of the season late against the Arizona Diamondbacks on July 8, and it seemed to have declined in durability to the extent that he played only 72 innings. He is a starting pitcher, but he averaged less than five innings per game. Although rumors of retirement have been raised several times in Japan and the United States, Darvish is still burning its will to extend its active duty.

Darvish, who started his major league career by joining the Texas Rangers in the 2012 season, recorded 115 wins and 93 losses with a 3.65 ERA in 297 games. Park Chan-ho (53), the "Korean Express," has only nine wins left in the record of the most wins for Asian pitchers. If it returns normally, it is expected that it will be able to challenge the record for the most wins.

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*This content was translated by AI.