The San Diego Padres’ 2026 season came to an end at the hands of the Milwaukee Brewers, who are now moving on to the World Series after sweeping the Los Angeles Dodgers in the National League Championship Series.
While the Padres played a very competitive series against the Brewers, in which all games were decided by two runs or fewer, San Diego has not reached the NLCS since the 2022 season.
Despite San Diego’s primary question mark during the season being its starting rotation, that was not the reason they lost against the Brewers. Padres pitching limited Milwaukee to four or fewer runs in every game of the series. However, San Diego will now face those same questions regarding the team’s rotation heading into the 2027 MLB season.
One of those questions revolves around the status of veteran starting pitcher Yu Darvish, who missed the entire 2026 season after undergoing elbow surgery following the 2025 playoffs.
San Diego Padres Announce Yu Darvish Update
Foul Territory’s Marty Caswell posted on X: “AJ Preller says Yu Darvish is still doing his rehab, no clarity yet on what the future holds for him. “He’s been doing the work to at least give himself the option.””
Regarding the status of San Diego’s starting rotation, Padres beat writer A.J. Cassavell wrote: “As things stand, the only guaranteed returnee in the rotation is Randy Vásquez. Michael King seems likely to opt out. The Padres hold a team option on Nick Pivetta. Walker Buehler, Robbie Ray, Casey Mize and Lucas Giolito are free agents. Yu Darvish is still mulling retirement. Joe Musgrove’s role is uncertain.”
Prior to the 2026 season, Darvish made the decision to go on the restricted list. That meant he would not receive his salary for the 2026 season. Prior to going on the restricted list, Darvish was set to make $16 million this season. After this season, Darvish still has two years and $30 million remaining on the contract he signed prior to the 2023 season.
Meanwhile, Padres general manager A.J. Preller said of the rotation, “Every year we talk about it: You’ve got to be willing to revamp your pitching staff. This offseason will be no different. We’ll have some opportunity, I think, this offseason to build a staff that we think is a championship staff through free agency, trades and continuing to develop.”
Padres’ Feelings After NLDS Loss
Unfortunately, while Preller is looking forward to the 2027 season, Padres players are still feeling the effects of a close loss against the Brewers. After the series, Manny Machado said: “It burns. It’s pain. This team, we fought all year, dealt with a lot as a group. Overcame a lot. It stings right now, for sure. But at the same time, proud of these guys, what they’ve accomplished, what they’ve done, what we did this year — a lot of great things.
Unfortunate. It just didn’t go our way. But take the punch, and enjoy the ride that we had.”
Meanwhile, Preller said of the series, “It’s a game of inches, and that series was defined by that. Again, I think we all understand we have a few more steps we need to take, and the ultimate goal is to be playing at this time of year, to be playing on the big stage in a World Series.”
San Diego Padres Announce Yu Darvish News After MLB Season