The Padres announced that the right-hander Yu Darvish was removed from the restricted list and will join the club tonight, but he was placed back on the 15-day injured list. Infielder Matthew Batten was entrusted with the task of clearing a place for him in the 40-man squad.
Darvish, 38, started the season strongly. He made 11 appearances in the starting lineup through the end of May, allowing 3.20 earned runs per nine innings, but his season has been on hold since then. On June 1, he landed on the 15-day injured list, retroactive to May 31, due to a groin strain. He was scheduled to return on June 25, but was sidelined by inflammation of his throwing arm.
On July 6, he was placed on the restricted list due to an unspecified family matter, with no details of that situation made public. Last week, it was reported that Darvish had organized a live BP session at a high school to keep himself somewhat fit outside of the club and perhaps show that he had overcome his injuries. Whatever the family situation was, it now appears that it has been resolved sufficiently for the veteran to turn his attention back to baseball.
However, he may not be heading to the big leagues right away, as he is still on the injured list. After being out for so long, he will likely need some sort of rehab to get back to full fitness. However, the fact that he is back from the restricted list at least provides some clarity and some anticipation in a situation that was previously difficult to predict.
The Padres have just placed the struggling knuckleballer on option Matt Waldronso that a rotation of Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, Michael King And Martin PerezWhenever Darvish is in game shape, he will return to action. Until then, the club may have to Randy Vasquez or Johnny Brito to cover Waldron’s spot, or maybe throw in a bullpen game or two.
Batten, 29, was added to the club’s roster in June 2022. In the two-plus years since then, he’s been mostly on optional assignments, appearing in 59 major league games with 164 batting appearances, batting .239/.337/.345 and posting a wRC+ of 96. His minor league work has been even worse, as he’s batted .242/.333/.372 at Triple-A El Paso since the start of 2023. In the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, that equates to a wRC+ of 75.
He is in his final option year and will be out of options until next season. With the transfer deadline having passed, the Friars will have to place him on the waivers list in the coming days. Despite his lack of offensive power, some clubs could be attracted to his other traits. He has posted double-digit steals in every minor league season since 2021 and has played every position on the field except catcher, including some cleanup work on the mound. He has less than a year of service time, so he could potentially be retained for six more seasons.
