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The last couple days have been a roller coaster for Yu Darvish. There was optimism that he’d start on Saturday against the Minnesota Twins, but that went out the window on Thursday, when he felt pain during a bullpen session. He was re-evaluated and then made a trip to Dallas, where he got a second opinion by the team doctor for the Texas Rangers.
Darvish has been out for a month with a triceps injury and his latest setback following a rehab start set off some alarm bells among the fan base. A trip to his former doctor in Texas was certainly concerning, as people feared the worst. However, fans can breathe a sigh of relief for now.
Via Sahadev Sharma of The Athletic.
Yu Darvish was in Dallas to get a second opinion from Texas Rangers team doctor Keith Meister. Meister worked with Darvish during the pitcher’s four and a half years in Texas and the righty obviously has a certain comfort level with the orthopedic surgeon.
After the game, the team announced Meister had determined Darvish has right elbow impingement and inflammation and gave him a cortisone shot. Darvish is expected to do no baseball activities for three to five days and then will be re-evaluated after that.
So, Darvish will be shut down for 3-5 days and although it’s not the most ideal outcome, the Cubs will take it rather than finding out there’s serious damage to the elbow. Darvish’s timetable to come back is unknown, but if after the 3-5 days he feels good, he could possibly make a start for the Cubs before the all-star break following another rehab assignment.
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That’s just me being optimistic, though, and really it doesn’t matter if Darvish returns before the break. In all honesty, I’d prefer Darvish to come back after the All-Star Game in Washington. At this point there’s absolutely no reason to try and rush him back. It’s the first year of a six-year contract and we’ve seen Darvish be an all-star caliber starting pitcher.
His health is priority number one. No need to pitch through something if it leads to something more serious in the future.
