Padres GM Preller says Yu Darvish went on restricted list to rehab from surgery at his own pace
SAN DIEGO — Yu Darvish is beginning the season on the San Diego Padres' restricted list because the veteran right-hander wants to proceed deliberately in his recovery from elbow surgery while he contemplates his future, general manager A. J. Preller said.
Preller praised Darvish’s decision for its benefits to the team and its fans Thursday while he spoke in the dugout before opening day at Petco Park. But the GM also indicated the move doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll have more money to pursue another pitcher for the Padres’ seemingly thin rotation. “Yu Darvish is a very special person, a very special player,” Preller said.
“He’s very unique. This situation is unique. Somebody that’s thinking about the good of the organization, the team, the fan base.
Wanting to get back, but you can’t put your heart into it, it would be very easy for him just to say, ‘You know what? I’m going to sit on the IL,’ and what that means for him from a compensation standpoint. He’s not doing that.
He knows that his heart’s not quite into it, but he’s going to continue with the rehab process, and maybe we get to next year and he’s feeling in a different place and he wants to come back. ” Preller said the Padres had planned for this unusual move throughout the offseason, and it was finalized over the past several weeks in conversation with the commissioner’s office and the players’ union. While on the restricted list, the 39-year-old Darvish doesn’t receive his salary — a condition that few major leaguers would accept voluntarily.