Yu Darvish DVOA, Advanced Stats, & Fantasy Rankings

The San Diego Padres officially placed right-hander Yu Darvish (elbow) on the 15-day injured list (retroactive to March 24) with right-elbow inflammation. In addition to Darvish, right-handers Matt Waldron (oblique), Bryan Hoeing (shoulder), Jhony Brito (forearm) and Sean Reynolds (foot) were placed on the 15-day IL before the start of the regular season. There is no timetable for when Darvish might return to San Diego's starting rotation to make his 2025 debut, but the good news is that he was spotted playing catch at Petco Park earlier this week. In a best-case scenario in which the 38-year-old veteran Japanese hurler avoids surgery on his right arm, he's likely to miss at least the first month of the season as he ramps up after being shut down in the middle of spring training. With Darvish out, left-hander Kyle Hart opens the season as the Friars' No. 5 starter.

San Diego Padres starting pitcher Yu Darvish (elbow) played light catch on Wednesday, according to AJ Cassavell of MLB.com. Darvish has been dealing with inflammation in his throwing elbow and is expected to be placed on the injured list to begin the season. In 2024, he posted a 3.31 ERA, 1.07 WHIP, and 78 strikeouts in 81 innings. He is still a productive pitcher when he is on the field, but staying healthy has become a problem for the 38-year-old over the past couple of years. He is a solid IL stash for fantasy purposes if you have the space for him.

San Diego Padres right-hander Yu Darvish (elbow) will not be ready for the start of the 2025 regular season due to right-elbow inflammation, manager Mike Shildt confirmed on Friday. There is no timetable for Darvish's return. "We feel pretty comfortable that some rest and getting ramped back up will be the answer," Shildt said. Without a clear timeline for a potential return, we wouldn't blame fantasy managers for avoiding the 38-year-old Japanese veteran in upcoming drafts. He was also limited to only 16 starts in 2024 due to an elbow injury and a personal matter, so surgery on his elbow shouldn't be ruled out at this point. Darvish looked great down the stretch when he returned late last year, though, including two postseason appearances. Now that Darvish will officially open the year on the injured list, lefty Kyle Hart and right-hander Stephen Kolek are competing for the No. 5 rotation spot in SD.