The San Diego Padres are a team built around three solid starting pitchers in Joe Musgrove, Yu Darvish, and Blake Snell.
Today, the Padres gave Darvish a nice contract extension.
According to Mark Feinsand and AJ Cassavell, Darvish and the Padres have agreed on a six-year, $108 million contract extension.
The deal is expected to become official later this afternoon.
The Padres reached the NLCS with Darvish, Musgrove, and Snell leading the way in 2022.
They ultimately fell short against the Philadelphia Phillies, but their starting rotation could be a key factor in them returning to October.
Jon Heyman of MLB Network confirmed Cassavell and Feinsand’s reports.
Yu Darvish is extended by Parents. $108M for 6 years. @Feinsand and @AJCassavell 1st
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) February 9, 2023
The Padres now have their ace locked up for an extra six years.
In 30 starts during the 2022 regular season, the veteran right-hander won 16 games and posted an ERA of 3.10.
He began his career with the Texas Rangers before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and later joining the Chicago Cubs.
The Cubs flipped him to the Padres during the 2020-21 offseason.
The one potential drawback of the contract is that Darvish is now 36 years old and will be under contract until his age-42 season.
This could create some potential problems in terms of how much he is being paid over the next six seasons.
But he did enjoy a bounce-back campaign in 2022 after struggling in his first year with the team.
Health could be the key factor for the Padres here.
If Darvish remains healthy, they’ll have a reliable top-of-the-rotation starter in their mix through the 2029 season.
