Reporter Byung-hyeok Cheon = Japanese pitcher Darvish Yu (36), who is active in the American Professional Baseball Major League (MLB), will play for his team, the San Diego Padres, until 2028.
Darvish signed a six-year contract extension with San Diego on the 10th (Korean time) for $108 million (approximately 136 billion won), local media reported at once.
Darvish, a right-handed fastball pitcher, conquered Japanese professional baseball and entered the major leagues in 2012, playing for the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers before signing a six-year contract with the Chicago Cubs for $126 million ahead of the 2018 season. 안전놀이터
Darvish, who was traded to San Diego in 2021, will be eligible for free agent (FA) again after this season, but agreed to an extension contract early.
Although the salary is slightly less than his first free agency contract, it is not often that the major leagues offer a six-year contract to a pitcher in his mid-thirties.
Darvish, who was guaranteed a contract until the age of 42, had an elbow ligament joint surgery in 2015 and an elbow arthroscopy surgery in 2018.
However, he started 242 games over 11 years in the major leagues and showed a steady appearance with a 95-75 record and a 3.50 earned run average.
In particular, last season, he went 16-8 with an ERA of 3.10 and established himself as San Diego’s ace.
Darvish is expected to play an active part as the ace of the Japanese national team in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) to be held in March.
Unlike other Japanese major leaguers, Darvish shows a strong desire to join the national team from the first day of training.