The Los Angeles Dodgers have plenty of starting-pitching depth heading into the final stretch of the 2026 season, even with Shohei Ohtani’s return to the mound still uncertain.
Since Ohtani last pitched in a game, the Dodgers have added two-time American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from the Detroit Tigers while also getting left-hander Blake Snell and right-hander Tyler Glasnow back from the injured list. Yoshinobu Yamamoto remains the rotation’s anchor, giving Los Angeles considerably more options than it had earlier in the year.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the Dodgers have pushed for a postseason berth with astounding pitching depth. And as fans look forward to another October, many will be interested to hear that a former polarizing starter is considering a stunning career decision.
Former Los Angeles Dodgers Star Yu Darvish Nearing Retirement After 15-Year Career
Yu Darvish, who joined the National League West division’s San Diego Padres several years after a very brief and memorable 2017 stint with the Dodgers, is now weighing retirement even though he has $30 million remaining on his contract.
“San Diego Padres pitcher Yu Darvish is considering retirement, according to Padres manager Craig Stammen,” as James H. Williams reported for USA Today.
Darvish’s potential retirement decision would mark the end of one of the more accomplished pitching careers of his generation. And perhaps no moment was more polarizing than the final few weeks he spent with the Dodgers.
The 40-year-old spent 15 seasons in the major leagues and owns a 115-93 career record, 33.2 WAR and 2,075 strikeouts across 297 starts. He also has two seasons remaining on his six year, $108 million Padres contract. But injury setbacks have pushed him to weigh ending his career rather than fighting his way back to the mound.
The Padres’ remaining financial commitment makes the possibility of retirement particularly notable. Darvish would be walking away from substantial guaranteed money if he ultimately decides that his playing career has run its course.
For Dodgers fans, Darvish remains tied to one of the most memorable and painful chapters in the franchise’s recent history.
Yu Darvish’s Los Angeles Dodgers Chapter Ended After Harsh Run
The Dodgers acquired Darvish from the Texas Rangers during the 2017 season, hoping the veteran right-hander could help push the club over the top. He went 4-3 with a 3.44 ERA in nine regular-season starts for Los Angeles and pitched effectively during the first two rounds of the postseason.
The World Series, however, became a different story.
Darvish failed to escape the second inning in either of his two starts against the Houston Astros, including a Game 7 outing in which he surrendered five runs in less than two innings. The Dodgers ultimately lost the series, with Darvish facing some pitch-tipping controversy. He then departed as a free agent amid ire from Dodgers fans for his poor performance.
“Darvish became a free agent after the World Series. He wanted to re-sign with the Dodgers,” the Los Angeles Times’ Dylan Hernandez reported in 2018. “Darvish had concerns about returning to Los Angeles, however, specifically how the city’s hatred of him could affect his family. He contemplated the downsides of sending his children to area schools.”
He eventually signed with the Cubs, then joined the Padres, turning a former Dodgers pitcher into a prominent member of one of Los Angeles’ division rivals.
Nearly a decade later, Darvish could now be approaching the end of his career. His decision would close the book on a remarkable 15-year MLB run while bringing renewed attention to the brief Dodgers chapter that remains one of the most scrutinized stretches of his career.