The San Diego Padres signed a six-year, $108 million contract extension with Japanese pitcher Darvish Yu (37) on the 11th (hereafter Korean time).
The old contract expires after this season, but it will be replaced with a new contract and play in San Diego until 2028. Darvish’s age is up to 42 years old. It is very unusual in the major leagues to sign a long-term contract with a pitcher well past the age of 40. It must mean that San Diego believes in Darvish’s skills.
San Diego manager Bob Melvin recently had an interview with local media in Peoria, Arizona, where spring training was held, and about the news of Darvish’s contract extension, “If someone throws well late in their career and gets that kind of contract, it’s Darvish. He said last year “He feels comfortable in San Diego. I hope he finishes his career here.” 안전놀이터
This is the highest praise a director can give. The San Diego club’s trust in Darvish is also sky-high. When he asked to join the World Baseball Classic (WBC) Japan team early, he readily accepted it. Shohei Ohtani, another Japanese major leaguer and two-time hitter, didn’t get the same permission from the Los Angeles Angels.
Darvish started 30 games last season and pitched 194⅔innings, recording a 16-8 record with a 3.10 ERA and 197 strikeouts. He played full-time for the last 4 years in a row without any major injuries, and even after moving to San Diego in 2021, he played the role of first starter by successively exceeding the regulation innings. In particular, bWAR marked 4.4, the highest since 2013 (5.6) when he was with the Texas Rangers.
In real life, Darvish’s pitch doesn’t drop compared to when he was in his 20s. In particular, his fastball average speed increased from 93.8 mph in 2013 to 95.0 mph last year. When all pitchers in the major leagues are listed in order of speed, they are within 15%. It is also noteworthy that he throws six pitches evenly. They are four-seam fastball, two-seam (sinker), cutter, slider, splitter, and curveball.
Regarding this, Sports Illustrated said, ‘As is evident, Darvish’s stamina is still at a high level. He was responsible for the most games and innings among pitchers on last year’s team and played the best game in the postseason. Thanks to that, San Diego went through two rounds.”
Darvish went 2-1 with a 2.88 earned run average in 4 appearances in his last year’s postseason.