Yu Darvish hasn’t pitched in the majors since May 20. But after a solid rehab start for the South Bend Cubs, Darvish’s return to the Chicago Cubs may be imminent.
Yu Darvish’s start to his Chicago Cubs tenure has been a disappointment to him, the Cubs and fans. Before his injury, he had a 4.95 ERA in 40 innings pitched. He only won one game with the Cubs before hitting the DL with triceps tendinitis.
But on Monday he showed flashes of why the Cubs are spending $126 million on him. He used just 57 pitches to get through five innings. He only allowed three hits, one of which was a home run and another was good for two bases. His fastball hit 94 mph on the gun as well.
Darvish is still working to get his health back to 100 percent, however.
“I can’t say for sure there’s nothing going on in the triceps,” Darvish told NBC Chicago through his translator.
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But that’s to be expected. It’s rare that a guy misses over a month and hops back on the mound at 100 percent. He’ll likely take another rehab start or two to build his strength before rejoining the Chicago Cubs.
Yu Darvish ready to prove his value
Darvish’s move to the DL didn’t do much to quiet the media cloud surrounding him. Chris Gimenez didn’t do him any favors by fanning the flames and telling the media that Darvish thought Chicago hated him.
But stepping away from baseball for a month may end up being good for Darvish. Not that recovering from injury is relaxing, but not having to be around the lights and fans on a nightly basis could help him get his mind where it needs to be. After all, confidence very well could have been at the crux of Darvish’s struggles.
Next: Chicago Cubs: The slump isn’t from bad baseball
Yu Darvish made a solid rehab start for the South Bend Cubs on Monday. When he rejoins the team, Chicago Cubs fans may be seeing a different version than the one they did early in Chicago.