On Thursday afternoon, the Padres clubhouse started catching wind of a what could be an extremely exciting development: Yu Darvish might be coming back.
“I had heard rumblings yesterday so I don’t know when I officially found out, but it was kind of a rumor that was circulating,” says fellow starting pitcher Dylan Cease.
Cease and the rest of the Padres found out Thursday night when Darvish himself sent a group text saying he was returning to Petco Park.
After an extended stay on the Restricted List as he dealt with a personal issue that he declined to get into detail on, Darvish materialized from the top step of the Padres dugout on Friday afternoon and went to right field to play catch before throwing a bullpen session.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
But, Darvish will not return to the mound immediately. He is still on the Injured List, but says he has no physical discomfort from the elbow that was bothering him. Yu is in a buildup phase and says he fully expects to return to the Padres starting rotation in the next couple of weeks.
Having a veteran presence like him back in the rotation would be a titanic boost for a club that has legitimate playoff aspirations.
“You feel like you got smarter,” says manager Mike Shildt, who will eventually get to play genius by penciling Darvish into the lineup again. “It's obviously a positive thing when you have guys with experience that have been able to produce and understand what this time of year looks like.”
Local
“He prepares as hard as anybody,” says Cease. “It's having an ace-quality pitcher being added to your team. It's a huge boost.”
But, just as important to his on-field production is Darvish’s emotional presence in the clubhouse.
“We are very excited. You know, everyone in this clubhouse was so happy when one he told us last night that, you know, he's coming back,” says outfielder Jurickson Profar, who has known Darvish since they were teammates in Texas more than a decade ago.
Darvish met with the media and, speaking through his interpreter, said he wasn’t sure what to expect when he finally got to be around his teammates again.
“From my standpoint, having been away for such a long time, you feel a little bit nervous and maybe a little bad, kind of, going back into the clubhouse. But, all the smiles and all the hugs, that kind of eliminated all those feelings so it was great.”
Darvish says he felt good in his bullpen session. If he has no setbacks in the next few days, Shildt says the All-Star could either throw another bullpen, a live batting practice session, or perhaps even make a minor league rehabilitation start.
