The Texas Rangers will try to prevent right-hander Yu Darvish from playing for Japan at the World Baseball Classic next March, as he only made his return from an elbow injury in May, the club's general manger Jon Daniels indicated Wednesday.
Darvish returned to the mound for the top team in late May after undergoing Tommy John surgery on his throwing elbow in March of last year.
The 30-year-old appeared in 17 games this past season, posting a 7-5 record and an ERA of 3.41. He also started a game in the playoffs in October, losing to the Toronto Blue Jays in the American League Division Series.
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 MLB regular season.