Texas Rangers: Yu Darvish Is Heading To The All-Star Game

Texas Rangers starting pitcher Yu Darvish is going to his fourth All-Star game. This is the first since 2014 that Darvish has been selected.

Darvish has been on a journey since 2015. As we know, Darvish missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John Surgery. He began last season on the disabled list as he was still not fully recovered. Three starts after his return, Darvish was again placed on the disabled list. 2016 was a difficult year for him. The Texas Rangers refused to give up on him so there were patient. To be honest, they couldn’t give up one him due to the amount of money they invested in him.

Darvish, 30, is in the final year of his rookie contract. He’s 6-6 with a 3.11 ERA in 17 starts and is one of the top six starting pitchers in the American League, according to Evan Grant. His 17 starts this season is the same amount of starts he had last season. At the moment, he’s on a two-game losing streak. He’s having a roller coaster of a season, one of the important things is he’s staying healthy. In any case, Darvish needs to remain healthy and pick up the pace.

More from Texas Rangers News

• Early 2023 MLB mock draft has Texas Rangers selecting an Ohtani-lite
• 3 Texas Rangers outfield trade targets not named Bryan Reynolds
• Did Jacob deGrom really mean what he said at his Texas Rangers press conference?
• Martin Perez accepting the qualifying offer looking like solid deal for the Rangers
• 4 outfielders the Texas Rangers can still pursue this winter

According to Stefan Stevenson, Darvish admitted that he was unsure if he could ever pitch again after undergoing Tommy John surgery. Darvish is 13-11 since his return from the injury. Obviously, his elbow will never be the same again. It’s been a long road for Darvish, but from time-to-time, he puts on a good show on the mound. In other words, it’s safe to say he’s still got plenty of gas in the tank. But if he hopes to sign a new big contract to stay in Arlington, he’s going to need start pitching more effectively and win some games. He needs to pitch so well that the Rangers front office will beg him to stay.

Darvish is only the second player born in Japan to make more than two All-Star games, being second to Ichiro Suzuki. In the 2012 and 2013 games, he didn’t play, however in the 2014 All-Star, he pitched 1.0 inning, retiring all three hitters he faced.

At the moment, Darvish is the sole Texas Ranger heading to the All-Star. At the moment, this is the first time since 2007 that only one Ranger is going to the All-Star, Michael Young being the one. However, there’s a possibility Elvis Andrus may join him. Andrus is currently on the ballot of five players that may be take the last roster spot in the American League roster. In 2012, Darvish was on the ballot and he overcame the odds. In 2013, Tanner Scheppers was on the same ballot but he didn’t make it.

According to ESPN Stats and Info, Darvish passes Kenny Rogers for the most All-Star selections in the Rangers franchise history.