Yu Darvish Injury: Updates on Rangers Star's Recovery from Tommy John Surgery

Alec NathanApr 9, 2016

Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish hadn't pitched since he underwent Tommy John surgery in March 2015, but he has been cleared to return to the lineup.

Continue for updates.

Darvish Active vs. Pirates

Saturday, May 28

MLB Lineups announced Darvish will be the starting pitcher against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.

Darvish Completes Rehab Start

Sunday, May 22

Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News noted Darvish threw six scoreless innings and 87 pitches in his rehab start.

Darvish Comments on Rehab Start

Sunday, May 1

"Physically I had no problems," Darvish said after throwing two hitless innings on 32 pitches with two strikeouts and a walk, per Anthony Andro of Fox Sports. "Maybe mentally it was my first outing so maybe I was a little overexcited. That’s probably it."

Brocail Comments on Darvish Recovery

Saturday, April 9

"It's time to turn him loose a little," pitching coach Doug Brocail said after Darvish's 50-pitch bullpen session Saturday, per Grant. "He's out of the stable and we've got to let him run a little."

"I don't feel we should go backwards," Brocail added, per Grant. "It's all subject to change, but if all goes well, we're going to try and stay on schedule."

Darvish's Potential Hampered by Arm Injuries

Darvish missed the entire 2015 season after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his right throwing elbow, but he progressed to the point where he was activated off the Rangers' 60-day disabled list last November.

However, the time off evidently revitalized Darvish's passion for the game.

"For 10 years I've been throwing in my career," Darvish said, per the Star-Telegram's Jeff Wilson. "Sometimes throwing in the 10 years, it's kind of like it became routine and I wasn't enjoying it as much as I used to when I first starting my career. Having that time [off], I feel like I'm enjoying throwing the ball more right now."

Few players are more valuable to the Rangers than the 29-year-old Darvish, but it helps that the Rangers got aggressive and plucked Cole Hamels from the Philadelphia Phillies at last season's trade deadline.

Stats courtesy of Baseball-Reference.com unless noted otherwise.