The two biggest pitchers found themselves new homes on the open market this week, with Mark Buehrle taking his talents to South Beach and C.J. Wilson joining Albert Pujols with the Angels.
That leaves Yu Darvish as, far and away, the best arm available on the market. There was a certain degree of questioning as to whether or not Darvish would end up on the market this winter, but those questions were answered on Thursday.
Darvish posted on Thursday, meaning teams can bid to negotiate with the 25-year-old right-handed hurler from the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters. Teams can bid up until Wednesday for the right to negotiate with Darvish, and the highest bidder receives a 30-day window to agree to a deal.
That is the main concern with pursuing Darvish, for many teams. Between the bid to negotiate with Darvish, and what it will take to actually sign him, it will likely cost a team well over $100 million.
The last time we saw a pitcher of this caliber come over from Japan, it was Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Boston Red Sox spent $103 million between the negotiation and the contract, which hasn’t exactly worked out for the Sox, by any stretch of the imagination.
By all accounts, however, Darvish is a much better pitcher than Dice-K. Standing 6’5″, Darvish has yet to post an ERA above two in his five seasons in NPB, including a 1.44 ERA in 232 innings in 2011. The frame and those numbers, along with an outstanding repertoire of pitches, have put him almost into that “can’t miss” category.
Many fans, and several teams within the league, are a bit weary of Darvish, given the recent success (or lack of) regarding Japanese players making the jump in recent years. In fact, far more have failed than succeeded, and we have yet to see a truly successful pitcher make the transition in the way that a player like Ichiro Suzuki has made it.
Nonetheless, there are going to be plenty of teams in on Darvish. It just might not be who you would think. The Rangers are expected to be the favorites, and the Blue Jays also have some money to burn on a high-caliber pitcher like Darvish.
The Cubs are also expected to be in there. After Kosuke Fukudome, most have a fear of investing mightily in Japanese players like we’ve seen teams do recently, and understandably so. Pitchers like Matsuzaka and Kei Igawa are the reason that we won’t likely see the Red Sox or Yankees in on Darvish.
But given the Cubs’ desperate need for pitching, it’s hard to see them not taking a good long look, and submitting a quality bid for Darvish. Just imagine Darvish at the top of a rotation that already features Matt Garza. The two would be a potent 1-2 punch, followed by Ryan Dempster, Randy Wells, and/or Carlos Zambrano. That’s a significant upgrade right there.
Like many, I have the Rangers as the favorite to win the bid and sign Yu Darvish. We know they have the money, and while the Angels didn’t jump ahead of them with the C.J. Wilson signing, bringing in Darvish would keep them well ahead of Anaheim.
The Cubs might not be the favorite to land Darvish, and are likely third behind Texas and Toronto, but I’d expect them to be well in the mix and make a serious run at Darvish, given his potential, and the fact that at 25-years-old, his prime appears to be ahead of him.
The only drawback is the money that would be required to sign him, especially if the team is able to reel in the likes of Prince Fielder. But it appears that they’d be willing to shell out the money necessary, though it might not be enough to keep up with the likes of the Rangers.
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