The San Diego Padres have taken a major step toward maintaining relevance in the postseason. On Thursday, the Padres and All-Star starting pitcher Yu Darvish agreed to a massive contract extension, according to MLB.com's AJ Cassavell. The deal is for six years, worth $106 million.

Darvish is coming off one of the best seasons of his career. He went 16-8 with a 3.10 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and struck out 197 batters in 194 2/3 innings. He helped the Padres reach the NLCS for the first time since they lost the World Series to the New York Yankees way back in 1998. They even finally took care of their big brother, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS, despite the Dodgers winning 111 games in the regular season.

San Diego's season was very tumultuous, both in their bullpen and starting rotation. Joe Musgrove looked like a Cy Young candidate in the first half of the season before falling off a cliff in the second half. The bullpen was completely unpredictable but turned into a strength down the stretch. Even the offense, despite adding Juan Soto, was very inconsistent. But Yu Darvish was the one showed up all year.

He was obviously handsomely rewarded for his efforts. But there will be some uncertainty amid this new contract. Darvish is 36 years old and has now agreed to a contract that will keep him in a Padres uniform through the 2028 MLB season. He will be 42 years old during the final season of this contract. There are not many relevant starters making significant salaries in their 40's in baseball history.