Yu Darvish is still rehabbing from Tommy John surgery but as he returns to the mound to begin throwing again, it’s good to see his confidence (or ego) hasn’t shrunk since his injury.
“I can’t say I’m satisfied 100 percent at this point,” Darvish told the Dallas News. “I’m glad I got to finish the first BP and get it over with. I had fun throwing to the hitters.”
He had fun because he offered $1,000 per minor leaguer if they could hit a homer off of him. Neither of the two that tried were able to collect.
“I didn’t give them a strike,” Darvish said. Again, good to see his confidence hasn’t waned.
This bullpen session was the first time Darvish has thrown to hitters since his surgery, and he’ll do this two more times before an injury rehab start in the minors somewhere. Darvish could not increase his velocity during the session, and still needs to increase his arm speed.
“Overall, I feel like I’m not quite there yet,” Darvish said.
“He’s still in that rehab mode for me,” Rangers Manager Jeff Banister said. “I look forward to getting him back in the rotation for him, our fans, his teammates. There are still a lot of obstacles to get across.”
Certainly, the defending AL West Champs could use the ace they’ve invested quite a bit of money into back as soon as possible. Clearly, the confidence and skill that made him one of the most expensive foreign players ever doesn’t appear to have gone anywhere during his rehab.
