Yu Darvish denies retirement rumors, 'leaning' toward voiding deal

Yu Darvish acknowledged that he is "leaning towards" voiding his current contract with the San Diego Padres.

The Japanese right-hander, however, made it clear that he is not retiring from baseball at this moment.

Signed to a six-year, $108 million contract extension prior to the 2023 season, Darvish has three years and $46 remaining on that deal. The 39-year-old will miss the upcoming season after undergoing UCL repair surgery with an internal brace on his pitching elbow in November.

Darvish took to social media on Saturday to refute a report from the San Diego Union-Tribune that indicated the pitcher informed the Padres of his intention to retire.

"You may have seen an article, and although I am leaning towards voiding the contract, there's still a lot that has to be talked over with the Padres so the finer details are yet to be decided," Darvish posted on X. "Also I will not be announcing my retirement yet.

"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. If once I get to that point I feel I can't do that, I will announce my retirement."

Darvish didn't leave it there, however.

"Since there are reports about my retirement, I'll explain briefly," he wrote later on social media. "I've been discussing with the Padres since last year about terminating the contract, but I haven't decided to retire yet. My own intention has been consistent since the start of the offseason, but at this point, discussions with the Padres, the players' association, and my agent haven't been finalized.

"As for me, if I can thoroughly complete my rehab and feel confident that I can pitch in games both mentally and physically, I'd like to start over and compete from scratch again. As for this year, I plan to go to Petco Park for rehab as well, and also attend a bit of Spring Training."

A five-time All-Star, Darvish began last season in July after being sidelined due to elbow inflammation. He posted a 5-5 record with a 5.38 ERA with 19 walks and 68 strikeouts in 15 appearances (all starts).

Overall, Darvish is 115-93 with a 3.65 ERA in 297 appearances (all starts) with the Texas Rangers (2012-17), Los Angeles Dodgers (2017), Chicago Cubs (2018-20) and Padres. Darvish missed the 2015 season with Texas after undergoing Tommy John surgery.

--Field Level Media