Yu Darvish was placed on the 15-day IL with neck tightness this week while the San Diego Padres were in Milwaukee to face the Brewers. We never want to see any starter—the Padres Opening Day starter nonetheless—go on the shelf but this could end up being a good thing in the long run for the 37-year-old.
The Good
Let’s start with the positives.
- It’s not an arm injury. I’m sure you’ve seen how many notable pitchers (Spencer Strider, Shane Bieber, Kyle Bradish, John Means, Shane McClanahan, Eury Perez, Lucas Giolito, Kodai Senga, Sandy Alcantara, Eduardo Rodriguez and Gerrit Cole among others) are on the shelf already this season so at least Darvish isn’t in that group coming off a stress reaction in his elbow at the end of last season.