San Diego Padres reinstate Yu Darvish from restricted list

Right-hander Yu Darvish was reinstated by the San Diego Padres on Friday.

Darvish was placed on the restricted list in early July, with the team saying at the time that he was dealing with a personal matter involving his family.

Through a team spokesperson, he declined to say Friday why he was away but noted he was happy to be back.

"It was a difficult decision to leave, obviously," Darvish said through interpreter Shingo Horie, according to MLB.com. "Things can get complicated sometimes. But again, it's really good to be back. ... All in all, it's a great day."

Darvish joined the team in San Diego on Friday, ahead of a game against theNew York Mets. For now, he has been added back to the 15-day injured list because of elbow inflammation, but he threw a 27-pitch bullpen session Friday as he nears a return to the mound.

"The bullpen was very good today," he said. "I'm very satisfied with how things went out there. As far as moving forward from here, I'll have some conversations with the appropriate people."

Darvish, 38, is 4-3 with a 3.20 ERA in 11 starts this season.

He spent time on the injured list earlier this year with a groin strain.

To make room on the 40-man roster, infielder Matthew Batten was designated for assignment.