When the San Diego Padres announced the signing of Yuli Gurriel from the Kansas City Royals, fans around the MLB world wondered how he would co-exist with Yu Darvish, the team’s star pitcher who he famously had beef with back in 2017.
How would Darvish feel sharing a locker room with a player who famously mouthed a racial slur in the dugout when the Japanese pitcher was still a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers? Well, after talking the move over with A.J. Preller, Darvish signed off on the signing, as he wants to make sure his team gets better.
“I don’t care,” Darvish said via the San Diego Union-Tribune. “If he signs. I don’t want you guys to think too much about it. I just want it to be like nothing happened before.”
Gurriel commented on the signing at his Spring Training locker, too, noting that he was excited to share a locker room with Darvish, who kindly introduced himself when they first linked up for team activities.
“Obviously, with this opportunity to be here, Yu took the opportunity to come over and say hi to me, which I really appreciate,” Gurriel noted. “He’s a great person and a great leader, so I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be his teammate, and I really appreciate that he came over and said hi to me, and I’m just happy to be in the same club that he is now.”
On one hand, it makes sense that Darvish would be consulted about Gurriel’s signing, as even if their interaction was almost a decade ago at this point, everyone reacts to such situations differently. Fortunately for the Padres, Darvish was okay with his addition, as even though Gurriel is on a minor league deal, if he can help San Diego compete as a reserve first baseman or DH, the 38-year-old was happy to welcome him aboard.
The post Padres’ Yu Darvish willing to put past behind him with Yuli Gurriel addition appeared first on ClutchPoints.
