Padres' Yu Darvish Out for 2026 MLB Season After Undergoing Surgery on Elbow Injury

The start of the 2026 season is months away, but the San Diego Padres already suffered a major blow to their pitching staff.

Padres starter Yu Darvish announced on Tuesday that he will miss the entire 2026 season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn flexor tendon and an internal brace in his elbow.

The 2025 season was one to forget for Darvish, as he missed the start of the year with elbow inflammation. He was placed on the 60-day injured list before making his season debut on July 7. In all, he made 15 starts and went 5-5 with a career-worst 5.38 ERA and 68 strikeouts.

Despite Darvish's down year, the Padres went 90-72 this season and made the playoffs for the second straight year, losing to the Chicago Cubs in the National League Wild Card Series. Darvish started the deciding Game 3 and surrendered two earned runs in the 3-1 loss.

Still, there's reason for optimism in San Diego, as this marked the first time in franchise history that the team has won 90 games in back-to-back seasons. Veteran pitcher Nick Pivetta emerged as the ace of the staff, going 13-5 with a 2.87 ERA and 190 strikeouts across 31 starts.

Losing Darvish puts more pressure on San Diego to fortify its pitching staff this winter. The Padres have been known to go big-game hunting in recent offseasons, so it can be expected that they will be active once again this year as they try to construct a roster that can contend for another playoff spot in 2026.