The Padres announced that right-hander Yu Darvish has been reinstated from the restricted list and will join the club Friday, though he has been returned to the 15-day injured list. Infielder Matthew Batten was designated for assignment to open a 40-man roster spot for him.
Darvish, 38, began his season strong. He made 11 starts through the end of May, allowing 3.20 earned runs per nine innings, but his campaign has paused. He landed on the 15-day injured list on June 1, retroactive to May 31, due to a left groin strain. He was supposed to return on June 25 but was sidelined by inflammation in his throwing elbow.
On July 6, he was transferred to the restricted list due to an undisclosed family matter, with no details about that situation having been made public. Last week, it was reported that Darvish set up a live BP session at a high school, trying to keep himself somewhat ready even while away from the club and perhaps demonstrating that he had put his injuries behind him. Whatever the family situation was, it has been resolved enough for the veteran to turn his attention back to baseball.
However, he may wait to join the big league club, as he is still on the injured list. After so much downtime, he will likely need some rehab assignments to build back up. Still, the fact that he is back from the restricted list provides some clarity and expectations for a situation that was previously difficult to predict.
The Padres just optioned struggling knuckleballer Matt Waldron, leaving them with a rotation consisting of Joe Musgrove, Dylan Cease, Michael King and Martín Pérez. Whenever Darvish is in game shape, he will jump back into that mix. Until then, the club may need to call Randy Vásquez or Jhony Brito to cover Waldron’s spot or deploy a bullpen game or two.
Batten, 29, was added to the club’s roster in June 2022. He has largely been on optional assignment in the two-plus years since then, having appeared in 59 big league games with 164 plate appearances. He has hit .239/.337/.345 in those for a wRC+ of 96. His minor-league work has worsened, as he has hit .242/.333/.372 at Triple-A El Paso since the start of 2023. In the context of the hitter-friendly Pacific Coast League, that translates to a wRC+ of 75.
He is in his final option year and will be out of options by next season. With the trade deadline having passed, the Friars will have to place him on waivers in the coming days. Despite the lack of offense, some clubs may be attracted to his other attributes. He has racked up double-digit steal totals in each minor league season since 2021 and has played every position on the diamond except catcher, including some mop-up duty on the mound. He has less than a year of service time and could be retained for six seasons beyond this one.
