Report: Former Cub Yu Darvish inks six-year extension with Padres originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
The San Diego Padres continue to spend like a big market club.
The Friars reportedly have inked ace Yu Darvish to a six-year contract extension worth $108 million on Thursday, fortifying their rotation from the top down. The deal puts Darvish, a former Chicago Cub who led the National League in strikeouts during the 2020 MLB season, in a Padre uniform through 2028. He will be 42 when the contract runs up.
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The Darvish extension is a no-brainer for a San Diego team that has positioned itself as "all-in" after acquiring Juan Soto in a blockbuster trade at the 2022 MLB trade deadline and then followed that move up by netting Xander Bogaerts in free agency in December.
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Behind Darvish in San Diego's rotation are Joe Musgrove, Blake Snell, and Nick Martinez -- none of whom exceeded an ERA of 3.60 in 2022.
Relief pitcher Seth Lugo, like Bogaerts, was an offseason acquisition -- one of the many Padre moves that has pushed the relatively-small market San Diego squad into the upper echelons of baseball spending. Lugo projects to be the club's fifth starter although he did not start a single game in 62 appearances in 2022.
Which baseball teams spend the most in 2023?
In 2023, the Padres will have the third-highest payroll in all of Major League Baseball at spending behind only the New York Mets ($336.2 million) and New York Yankees ($267.9 million).
What were Yu Darvish's 2022 MLB stats?
Darvish, the five-time MLB All-Star, is coming off an impressive 2022 campaign. He went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA last season over 30 starts.
Does Yu Darvish have 3,000 career strikeouts?
Darvish joined Hideo Nomo as the only other Japanese pitcher to record 3,000 career strikeouts. That figure encapsulates both Darvish's career in America and Japan.
He joined that exclusive pitching club late in the 2022 MLB season tossing seven scoreless innings in a sterling performance against the Los Angeles Dodgers on the road.
