The Padres are shutting down for the rest of the season, skipper Bob Melvin told reporters ( ). Testing revealed an olecranon stre s reaction in the veteran rightys throwing elbow. Darvish has been on the injured list since August 26. The i sue was first diagnosed as inflammation. The stre s reaction is more serious, though its expected that Darvish will be able to rehab the injury without surgery. Theres little reason for the Friars to take chances with any notable player now that their playoff hopes are dashed. The 37-year-old Darvish is a key rotation member beyond this season. Last winter, San Diego signed him to an extension which tacked on five years and $90MM in new money. Its Dan Wilson Jersey a bold investment that runs through the pitchers age-41 campaign. While Darvish was coming off a 3.10 ERA showing last season, he didnt replicate that production in 2023. He concludes his year with a 4.56 ERA acro s 24 starts and 136 1/3 innings. His underlying marks didnt have the same level of decline, however. Darvishs fastball velocity still sat just under 95 MPH on average. His strikeout rate dropped just one percentage point from 25.6% to 24.6%, while he lost le s than one point on his swinging strike percentage. He i sued a few more walks and allowed a bit more hard contact, but his profile beyond the ERA doesnt look all that different from prior seasons. Its crucial for the Padres that Darvish perform at a mid-rotation or better level next year. The Friars have plenty of uncertainty in the starting staff. is headed to free agency. is almost certain to join him by declining a $7.5MM player option. Each of and (the latter of whom has again worked almost exclusively in relief anyways) have complex options on their contracts but could potentially hit free agency themselves. Darvish and who is also on the injured list and might not return this season are the only pitchers a sured of spots in next years rotation. The upcoming free agent cla s is deep in starting pitching, so president of baseball operations A.J. Preller and his staff figure to add two or more arms from the open market. Jt Chargois Jersey