Overview
- San Diego announced Darvish underwent an internal-brace UCL repair with flexor tendon repair on Oct. 29 in Arlington, performed by Dr. Keith Meister, with a 12–15 month recovery timeline.
- Darvish, 39, is ruled out for the entire 2026 season, and he wrote on social media that he will work hard in rehab to throw comfortably again.
- He returned in July 2025 after elbow inflammation and finished with a 5.38 ERA over 15 starts and 72 innings, marking his lowest MLB strikeout rate at 23%.
- The loss further thins a staff with Dylan Cease and Michael King entering free agency, leaving Nick Pivetta, Randy Vásquez, JP Sears, and a returning Joe Musgrove as leading options while the club weighs roles for others such as Mason Miller.
- This is his second major elbow layoff after 2015 Tommy John surgery, and he remains under contract through 2028 with about $43 million owed from 2026–28.