Darvish rules out playing in World Baseball Classic

DALLAS – Texas Rangers pitcher Yu Darvish said Friday he is healthy and looking forward to the new season, but confirmed he will __play no part in the World Baseball Classic in March with the Japan national team.

After undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow in March 2015, Darvish returned to the mound for the top team in late May last year.

“My body is in good shape and I am really looking forward to it (the new season),” said Darvish, who is in the final year of his six-year contract with the Rangers.

The Rangers said in December they were against allowing Darvish to take part in the WBC and the pitcher admitted himself that he did not want to take any risks so soon after coming back from surgery.

The 30-year-old appeared in 17 games this past season, posting a 7-5 record and an ERA of 3.41.

In 2009, Darvish helped Japan win the WBC title for the second time in as many tournaments but did not take part in the event in 2013 because he wanted to prepare for the regular season.

“It’s not much about my contract, but coming back from Tommy John surgery,” Darvish said through his interpreter at the Rangers’ winter banquet Friday night. “This will be my second year to see how my body reacts and how much I can do to prove how good of a pitcher I am. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Darvish is 46-32 with a 3.29 ERA in 100 career starts for Texas, he missed all of the 2015 season because of the surgery and didn’t pitch for the Rangers last season until May 28.

In his first AL Division Series start last October, he gave up a career-worst four homers. Three of them were in the same inning of a 5-3 loss to Toronto in Game 2 of the best-of-five series that the Blue Jays swept.

“I would love to pitch in that kind of situation again this year,” Darvish said. “And I would like to pitch very well.”

Darvish said he just started throwing again and feels “really good.”

Texas spent more than two years scouting Darvish and getting to know him personally before committing more than $107 million to get him. On top of his guaranteed $56 million contract, the Rangers had to pay in the old system a massive $51,703,411 posting bid to the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters.