Former Rangers' pitcher Yu Darvish sends MLB world into frenzy with retirement buzz

On Saturday, rumors of Yu Darvish's retirement sent the baseball world into a tailspin for less than two hours but the actuality of where he stands in his playing career still remains uncertain.

Speculation of his retirement has been going for quite some time but Saturday's news first broke when San Diego Tribune writer Kevin Acee shared it to X. It was said that the right-hander was going to forgo the three years and $43 million remaining on his contract with the San Diego Padres.

Darvish, 39, arrived in Major League Baseball in 2012 after a tremendous six year career in Nippon Professional Baseball. When he was posted for MLB teams in December 2011, the Texas Rangers won the rights to negotiate a contract and signed him to a six-year, $60 million deal the next month.

Darvish will go down as one of the best pitchers to play the game

His popularity goes well beyond MLB. He is still highly regarded as one of the best Japanese players, winning the Japan Series in 2006, being named an NPB All-Star five consecutive seasons and the NPB Pacific League MVP twice.

In many ways, Darvish helped pave the way for even further influx of Asian players coming to MLB. The consensus best player in the world, Shohei Ohtani grew up idolizing him, while other Japanese stars Yuki Matsui, Roki Sasaki and Seiya Suzuki have looked to him as they started their MLB careers.

His impact goes beyond mentoring and supporting the younger generation, it is seen on the field too. While the previous few seasons haven't gone as planned for the 39-year-old, Darvish has still accomplished a lot in the league.

In 297 games, Darvish has compiled a 115-93 record, 3.65 ERA, 2,075 strikeouts and a 1.14 WHIP in 1,778 innings of work through his 13 seasons with the Rangers, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeled Dodgers and San Diego Padres. Not only was he the first Japanese pitcher to record 2,000 MLB strikeouts, he also has the most MLB strikeouts for a Japanese-born pitcher.

As a Ranger from 2012 to halfway through the 2017 season, Darvish was a four-time All-Star, finished third in the 2012 AL Rookie of the Year and second to Max Scherzer in the 2013 AL Cy Young race, where he led the league with 277 strikeouts and recorded a 2.83 ERA in 32 starts.

Darvish confirms he's still "poised to" retire

When the news broke on Saturday afternoon, Darvish took it upon himself to address the speculation from Acee's article.

In his post, Darvish said he was "leaning towards voiding the contract" but that there is "still a lot to be talked over with the Padres." Currently rehabbing from an internal brace surgery to repair his UCL, Darvish will miss the entire 2026 season.

An injury like that late in his career is what sparked the retirement rumors, especially with a lot of money and multiple seasons still left on his six-year deal he signed with San Diego in 2023. Although his entire focus is recovery, the road is long and will make a decision on his career if it doesn't seem to be trending in the right direction.

"Right now I am fully focused on my rehab for my elbow, and if I get to a point where I can throw again, I will start from scratch again to compete," said Darvish. "If once I get to that point I feel I can’t do that, I will announce my retirement."