Remember Anthony Rendon? After being overwhelmed by injuries the last few years, he’s reportedly agreed to restructure the rest of his contract. Thus, basically put an end to his rocky run with the Angels. The 35-year-old won’t officially retire, but he isn’t expected to play in 2026 either. Instead, he’ll keep rehabbing at home in Houston. Meanwhile, Padres veteran Yu Darvish might just have followed the same path.

According to a recent report by MLB insider Bob Nightengale, Darvish has officially announced his retirement. And like Rendon, he’s also walking away with several years of his contract still on the table. However, it took no time for Darvish to squash the report and share his updated plan.

“Darvish says he’s leaning towards voiding his contract, but he’s going to attempt to fully rehab from his surgery, and if he cannot do so, he’ll step away from baseball,” Dodgers Nation shared via X.

Well, just after Yu Darvish’s retirement was rumored to be publicized, his agent Joel Wolfe said that the veteran right-hander “has not made a final decision yet.” So a hint was there, and Darvish just confirmed that.

Even so, the news has come as a shock to the Padres, especially since the team is already reeling after the sudden departure of its manager.

Darvish, now 39, has spent the past five seasons in San Diego, posting a 3.97 ERA and averaging 9.4 strikeouts per nine innings during that stretch. Yes, last season was more of a struggle, as he went 5–5 with a 5.38 ERA and an 8.5 strikeout rate per nine innings across 15 starts. However, he is still under contract for three more years and $43 million, after signing a six-year, $108 million extension with the Padres ahead of the 2023 season.

So, even if Darvish is not retiring and just voiding his contract for now, he is all set to lose the remaining amount. But all those are just because he is not contributing enough to the team due to his injury.

For the unversed, Darvish is coming off a serious elbow surgery, and that alone puts the Padres at a crossroads. He had a torn flexor tendon repaired with an internal brace tied to the UCL, and the recovery timeline is 12–15 months. So, realistically, that probably wipes out 2026 and turns 2027 into a big question mark!

On paper, it might look like the Padres caught a break by clearing $43 million tied to an injured arm. But that “win” comes with a catch. They still have to replace those innings, and they’re staring at that problem just as the offseason options are starting to dry up.

The Padres have a huge task to plug the gap of Yu Darvish

The idea of Darvish voiding his contract and potentially retiring is new, but his unavailability for 2026 wasn’t some surprise development. The Padres already knew this was coming and had been planning accordingly. That’s why you’ve heard internal talk about stretching out arms like Mason Miller or Adrián Morejón and seeing if either could transition into a starting role.

More realistically, though, they were always going to need to find innings on the cheap, either via trade or a bargain free-agent signing.

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The problem is that the plan just got a lot harder. San Diego already thinned out its farm system at last year’s deadline, which limits how creative they can be on the trade front. Still, AJ Preller has a track record of finding value where others don’t, and it wouldn’t be shocking to see him get aggressive for a low-cost starter.

Now, though, the offseason is drying up fast. With Freddy Peralta off the board and landing with the Mets, the margin for error is shrinking. Replacing someone like Yu Darvish isn’t a plug-and-play situation. There’s no easy fix here, and not every option on the table is going to be good enough.