THURSDAY, 10:41pm: Jeff Wilson of The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has the year-by-year breakdown of Darvish's contract. The right-hander will earn $5.5MM in 2012, $9.5MM in 2013, $10MM annually from 2014-2016, and $11MM in 2017.
WEDNESDAY, 6:41pm: Even if they’d had a relatively quiet offseason, the two-time defending American League Champions could have been a playoff-caliber team in 2012. Yet they spent aggressively on one of the top available arms and became a little scarier in the process. The Rangers have agreed to sign Yu Darvish to a six-year deal in the $60MM range. Agents Don Nomura and Arn Tellem represent the 6'5" 25-year-old and negotiated for bonuses that could be worth another $10MM.
Darvish can opt out of the contract after the fifth year, Jeff Wilson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tweets. However, Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports adds (on Twitter) that Darvish must hit certain "high-end award levels" to be able to opt out of the contract. The deal is worth just $56MM guaranteed, Wilson tweets. Wilson says the deal includes $4MM in bonuses with the potential to reach even more incentives by winning Cy Young Awards.
GM Jon Daniels liked what he saw when he watched Darvish pitch in June, and the Rangers committed a record-setting amount for the right to negotiate with the right-hander. The Nippon Ham Fighters obtain a $51,703,411 posting fee from the Rangers, who topped the $51.1MM Boston paid for the rights to speak with Daisuke Matsuzaka five years ago.
Darvish posted a 1.44 ERA with 10.7 K/9 and 1.4 BB/9 in 232 innings this past season and he hasn't posted an ERA above 2.00 since 2007. He'll join a Rangers rotation that looks considerably different than it did a year ago. C.J. Wilson is gone, but Neftali Feliz will move to the rotation and Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Scott Feldman and Alexi Ogando provide manager Ron Washington with an abundance of alternatives for the rest of the rotation.
The Angels finished ten games behind the Rangers in both 2010 and 2011, but GM Jerry Dipoto has signed Wilson and Albert Pujols, so the Angels are considerably more threatening entering the 2012 campaign.
Prince Fielder may have lost a suitor this afternoon. It's been reported that the Rangers are unlikely to sign both him and Darvish, so agent Scott Boras may turn elsewhere as he looks to find a deal for the 27-year-old free agent. ESPN.com's Jayson Stark tweets that the Rangers feel "less urgency" to sign Fielder, though a deal is still possible.
Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com first tweeted news of the agreement, Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News tweeted the value of the deal and Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports tweeted news of the incentives. The Rangers have confirmed the deal.
Go Rangers.
Halos fans are very upset that Rangers were 1st in the AL west the past 2 seasons… its funny the comments they leave on here
It’s cause they know they have a 3 year window and a 7 year albatross of a contract with Mr. Pujols. Colby Lewis is the veteran of our rotation followed by nothing but guys under 30. The Angels should be desperate because they know they can’t compete with the greatness of Jon Daniels.
3 year window? Because we won’t shed any payroll in the future or be able to sign any more great offensive players with a $3B television contract… right. Pujols will never prevent us from signing additional talent, and will bring in major dollars with marketing revenue and ticket sales alone. Get over the contract length argument already, it’s tired, dull and baseless. Even if he falls off completely in five years and becomes useless in the field, he’s in the land of the DH.
I guess paying $110M for a guy that’s never thrown an MLB pitch isn’t risky at all though. And since when does under 30 equal good? Your rotation has a lot more question marks than the Angels.
The Rangers are a great team, I’m not delusional. But I would say things are about even right now as far as chances to win the division go. Especially if Morales can contribute in a meaningful way.
The Rangers have not done their homework. I trust you know way more than the Rangers front office. Thank yu for your very helpful information.
Pujols and CJ are not over paid at all…
sarcasm?
CJ signed a very reasonable deal..
C: Napoli/Yorvit > Ianetta/Conger
1b: Pujols > Moreland/Young
2b: Kinsler > Kendrick
SS: Andrus/Aybar is a wash (Aybar may have had the better WAR last year, but I prefer Andrus’s potential)
3b: Beltre > Trumbo
OF: Hamilton/Cruz/Murphy/Gentry > Hunter/Abreu/ Bourjos/Trout/Wells
DH: Young/Morales is a wash (if Morales produces to his ’09 potential, this is an Angels win, but that’s a big question mark based on his fragility)
Angels rotation > Rangers rotation
Rangers bullpen > Angels bullpen
Rangers won the division by ten games last season. Angels haven’t made up ten games on a Rangers team that is better than last year.
The Rangers may be better than last year, but you are forgetting that the Angels are definitely better than last year.
The Angels add Pujols, Wilson, Hawkins, and Ianetta who have 2011 Fangraph WAR of 5.1, 5.9, 0.7, and 3.3.
Morales will also return, and at a modest estimate he adds 1.7 WAR, which is half his 2009 WAR.
The Angels lose Pineiro, Mathis, and Chatwood which add -1.3, 1, and -0.5 WAR based on 2011.
This total change adds up to +15.9.
The Rangers add Nathan and Darvish. I will get back to Darvish, since he is the question mark. Fangraphs fans project Nathan will have 1 WAR, which is fairly reasonable.
They also get full seasons of Uehara and Adams. This could add 0.65 and 0.9 WAR respectively to the team, which is a very generous estimate based on half their 2011 seasons.
The Rangers also lose Oliver, which adds -1.3 WAR from his 2011 season.
This totals to a net change in WAR of +1.25.
Yes I know I missed some other statistically insignificant transactions, and I know WAR is not the greatest stat for pitching. This does provide a reasonable estimate, however, because we are making predictions anyway.
If you subtract the Rangers change in WAR (1.25) and the 2011 GB (10) from the Angels change in WAR (15.9), you wind up with the Angels being better than the Rangers by 4.65 wins before Darvish. If Darvish pitches for 4.65 or better WAR, he would have a better season in 2012 than Lincecum in 2011.
Now, do not get me wrong. I do not think that additions/subtractions in baseball are as simple as WAR. However, I disagree with your and anyone else’s insistence that the numbers show that the Rangers are unquestionably better than the Angels. I think the WAR system is flawed simply because it does not predict a team’s value or outcome (i.e. a lineup, an outfield, an infield, a rotation, a bullpen). There are many more factors that come into play in the team sport of baseball. In fact, adding two scary hitters in Pujols and Morales into the lineup of aggressive but not very intimidating hitters will make everyone’s individual WAR go up.
Congratulations to both the Rangers and Darvish, hope he lives up to the hype! Should be fun to watch.
Yu’ve gone and done it now Nolan!
Terms?
Maybe the Jays can try and trade for Matt Harrison, the Rangers have so much depth in starting pitching now, I would think one of them in expendable
Who on the Blue Jays do you think would be a good fit in Texas?
Probably just prospects, I don’t think Texas really needs that much lol, other than a first basemen, but we hardly have one.
They’ll need some of that money back when Hamilton comes back with an offer on the table at the end of the season.
Which Money? The Darvish money? I am sure that the Billionaires who own the Rangers can afford Hamilton.
or maybe they take their remaining money and get fielder instead?
Where did I talk about money?
Not happening. Harrison would be the sixth starter on the Jays and he is no better than the first five, making a trade for him useless. The Jays also have four guys with huge upside ready this year or next, making Harrison a liability.
Ummm, what? Other than Romero and Morrow, I would say he is the best, Alvarez might be better in the future, but he is only 21, and needs polishing, Harrison is better than Cecil, and Drabek (unless Drabek gets control).
Doug Drabek maybe. Definitely not the son.
If you watched Drabek last year, you can see how lost he was, no confidence, no control, every start was a snow ball effect, getting worse by the inning.
Not saying I would rather have Harrison over Drabek, I would obviously rather Drabek, he has amazing stuff. Just at this point, I would rather have Harrison in my rotation.
I agree.. however Drabek will be fighting for the 5th spot in the rotation. An uphill battle at that.
Yeah I’d rather keep Harrison. He’s going to be a good one in Texas. I’d say trade Ogando, but teams may be wary of his lack of experience as a starter do far and I see it being a huge hole in our bullpen if he’s traded. Maybe Feldman?
I would love Ogando, even if he doesn’t work out as a starter, I would put his 99 MPH fastball in my bullpen with no problem.
Which is the exact reason I’d like to keep Ogando as well. I see him as a possible closer next year of Adams leaves. I know we have Nathan but at his age, I think Nathan would be a better 8th inning guy. Feldman regained a cutter that was better than ever last season, which is the pitch that makes him good, so I could see him being traded to the Jays for some lower (preferably pitching) prospects with high potential.
Not a fan of Feldman, I don’t see him as an upgrade over Cecil really.
problem with feldman is that hes not remotely interesting as a trade candidate. theres almost no point in the jays acquiring a back end starter. they’re far more likely to fill the rotation internally, and theres probably a good chance that two of mcgowan, cecil, drabek and also hutchinson and mcguire later in the season could out-produce feldman anyways.
Fielder to Nats for 6/$125 with a 3 year player opt out.
Nats won’t give him an opt out.
Yeah they will. Maybe a 4 year opt out. What’s the big deal — if he’s done so well as to want to opt out, then it was a good signing. Yeah we lose that upside but you can always renegotiate. As a Nats fan, I want Prince from his 27-31 years anyway, not his decline.
Fielder to Nats for 5 years guarenteed @ 26.5 annually (subject to weight and fitness clauses), mutual options for following 2 years. No no-trade clause. No player opt out in 5 guarenteed years. He seems to be lacking in incentive to be in the very best shape possible so team gamble needs to be limited.
Did Scott Boras write that contract? 26.5m annually plus no-trade plus opt out after 5? Too rich. But I like your head on the fitness clauses.
They key word there was “no.” He said NO no-trade clause and NO player opt out.
So you mean a yes-trade clause?
Did Scott Boras write that contract? 26.5m annually plus no-trade plus opt out after 5? Too rich. But I like your head on the fitness clauses.
Fielder is not going to Yellowstone park and play for the Nats. He’s much better off in Texas or back in Milwaukee on a short term deal.
Rangers fans are all saying thank Yu.
yu serious?
I take a “I’ll believe it when I see it” attitude to players coming from Japan. I get the feeling this may backfire and end up limiting their ability to resign some of their upcoming FA’s. But if it pans out, congrats to both of them.
I think he’s going to get destroyed by AL hitting in that launching pad.
Yeah I don’t. Like its been said over and over again, the guys has insane fitness, a huge frame, a TON of plus offspeed pitches, he’s a good ground ball and strikeout pitcher, and for the people that think the heat will get to him, if Holland (an Ohio guy) can do it, Darvish can do it.
But can he throw the offspeed stuff while gripping an adult sized baseball??
Have you ever seen this guy? He’s huge. If you really think he’ll have a problem holding a bigger ball, you’re insane. The only thing that might be a problem for him is pitching on shorter rest. But as stated before he’s in great shape and only 25. He will adapt.
It is not the fact that the baseball is a different size but that the seam’s are different, they are said to be eaiser to grip. Also the mound over there is flat compared to the pitchers mounds over here,also shorter rest and the fact he can’t throw an 80 pitch bullpen session the day before his starts. Oh and the heat yeah that will all just be easy peasy!
You mean that same sized baseball that he used all of last season? I’m sure he’ll be fine.
Kind of like Matsuzaka WAS.
Yeah I don’t. Like its been said over and over again, the guys has insane fitness, a huge frame, a TON of plus offspeed pitches, he’s a good ground ball and strikeout pitcher, and for the people that think the heat will get to him, if Holland (an Ohio guy) can do it, Darvish can do it.
You’re right. Apart from Ichiro and Hideki Matsui, none of them have come close to living up to the huge amount of hype that surrounds them.
I don’t think that’s a fair comparison. Most Japanese stars come here in their late 20’s, early 30’s, or in the case of Dice-K, after they’ve thrown about 1200 innings.
Until I see a few young Japan League stars come to the US for their age 25-28 seasons, the comparison between leagues is really just a lot of speculation.
I like the deal but you have a few facts wrong. Darvish has 1268 innings under his belt compared to 1402 for Dice-K when he came over. That is only 134 inning difference or about 2/3 of a season. Dice-k was also 26 when he came over. But that is where it ends. Yu had a full run less ERA and a much better winning percentage.
I don’t think I have any facts wrong, I’m lumping Yu into the pile of used up Japanese stars. I think Yu will struggle after a year or two also. Dice-k and Yu may be young, but their arms are all used up by the time they get here.
I believe acquiring Japanese talent is like acquiring talent on the free-agent market. In that acquiring talent on the free-agent market is usually not worth it.
I thought you were saying that comparing Yu to Dice-K was not a fair comapirson based on Dice-k having more innings and being much older. I have reread your post and take back my “you have a few facts wrong” part.
You were doing great, until you wrote “winning percentage”. Uugh
I ususally would not bring this up (I do understand how misleading that stat can be) but the disparity is big enough to where it does matter and combined with his full run lower ERA.
Nomo would like a word with you. He was a CY candidate.
Threw a no hitter, won a rookie of the year award and was very reliable.
Not just Nomo but Daisuke got a ring. If Darvish helps Rangers get a ring I think its all worth it. People can complain about Daisuke all they want but that one year was worth the investment.
Then I guess for the Yankees, AJ Burnett was a good investment too?
As a Ranger fan I think he was a great investment because he has locked up money that could have been used by the Yanks elsewhere.
Oh well, we will have that 1 memory, just like the Sox fans with Dice-K. We shall see how Darvish does.
RIGHT…..he kept the yanks from signing others.
psssttt….despite AJ’s $16.5 mil per the Yanks managed to find $150 mil in the couch cushions to offer to Cliff Lee.
Cushions? I think they were just doing their laundry that day and put together all the money they found in it.
There really haven’t been that many examples, theres only been a couple top notch guys who didn’t come over during the twilights of their career. Daisuke wasn’t a failure until his second season, and it was mostly because of his failure to adjust to the MLB not his stuff. Igawa wasn’t that good to begin with. It’s not fair to generalize yet, considering how many failed can’t miss prospects come from everywhere else, they come in huge numbers but for far smaller dollar amounts, You can throw a handful of skittles at someone but only a couple will get in the mouth.
Kaz Sasaki, Hasegawa, and Johjima all lived up to their contracts.
Agreed, they did live up them. And by “living up,” I mean they were alive through the duration of their contracts
Sasaki won a ROY and 2 all star selections in his 4 year MLB and averaged 38 saves a year as a closer. Seems like a good deal to me
Being a Boston fan, I can only point to the enormous hype that surrounded DiceK when he came to Boston 5 years ago. He too was a can’t miss pitcher with A+ stuff, but he never ever lived up to it. He was a good # 4 or 5 starter and sometimes not even that. I’ll believe Darvish is worth more to the Rangers than CJ Wilson when I see him perform. Until then I remain cautiously skeptical.
Wasn’t he like 18-3 his first year?
He went 18-3 his 2nd season, but that record is just another example of what’s wrong with evaluating a pitcher with W-L record. He walked over 5 per 9, while averaging less than 6 IP per start. His 2.90 ERA that season was helped tremendously by a .258 BABIP and an 80.6 LOB%.
Dice-K has never really put up a stellar season in the MLB, but if it weren’t for the posting fee, he’d probably be worth his contract if he could stay healthy.
Exactly, he was wildly inconsistent and every start (with the exception of a few beauties) was an adventure. He often was up to 60 or 70 pitches by the 3rd inning. I agree though. If it were just the salary, he was probably worth it, but with the posting fee, definitely not.
Nomo, Saito, Kuroda… and that’s just the Dodgers.
All pitchers in one hell of a pitchers’ park.
I love this! I can’t wait to see Darvish pitch and I really hope he succeeds! Already looking forward to baseball!!
Yeah! I really want to see him vs Ichiro haha.
that could be his 1st match up. rangers play the m’s the 4th game of the season
I’ve been looking foward to baseball since October 30.
good go somewhere else fielder please thanks
Good. I can’t wait to see what this kid can do. Now go get Fielder!
bwahahaha, they cant afford fielder. hence the reason it was said that they are likely out of the fielder chase. unless fielder will take a 50 million dollar contract and a dozen hotdogs. i doubt the rangers are going to get him now. especialy since they just paid 102 million for an unproven pitcher. yeah yeah he was so great in japan. lets see what he does against bigger ball players
The Rangers, like many other teams, are not strapped for cash. If you do your homework, you’ll see that they most likely CAN afford him. But they won’t necessarily sign someone just because they have the money. They’re more prudent with their money than, say, Miami. Not that there’s anything wrong with that; we are who we are.
Suggesting that the Rangers definitely will, or definitely won’t, sign Prince is wrong. Nobody knows what they’ll do.
Question about posting fees: what parameters are used to come up with an exact posting fee like $51,703,411?
11 and 34 are numbers for Nolan Ryan and Darvish or something like that. I forget though.
Oh, right. That too.
None. The teams just toss out what they think is fair. The Rangers must have been using the “The Price is Right” method–trying to outbid their opponents by as little as possible by using a very specific number.
They used Nolan’s number and Yu’s number for the last 4 digits (according to reports). Kinda creative I say.
Front offices use regression analysis in their bids on high value players like these. Computer spits it out, F.O. fills out the check.
Front offices use regression analysis in their bids on high value players like these. Computer spits it out, F.O. fills out the check.
Can Yu believe it????
Only a Rangers fan would get excited about someone who has never pitched in the Show…sad really. At least the Halos knew who they were spending that wad on…
Kon-ichiwa beyotches! Welcome to the Show, Meat.
God you Angels fans sure have become annoying
haha, that’s rich coming from a Detroit person.
Which means….?
C’mon Wes, step your trolling game up.
The annoying Angel fan was birthed in 2002. Nothing new here.
Agreed. I am just excited for the race in the AL West, should be a good rivalry for years to come.
Poor, poor A’s and Mariners…
Actually, I hope they start getting better, too. I want the AL West to be a place where players want to play and where competition is fierce.
That’s true. The AL West will still be bad other than the Rangers and Angels. The Mariners should be bad for awhile, but I like their future prospects better than the poor A’s. The A’s will be a doomed franchise without a new stadium, theirs is TERRIBLE. And then the Astros join the AL West. I am not sure which team will be worse moving forward, the A’s or Astros…
A 31 year old that the Rangers let walk because they knew he wouldn’t be worth what he wanted?
Yep. You got us there…
funny how you never let anyone talk trash about Wilson and always stuck up for him, but now that Daniels gives the $$ to an unknown MLB commodity, suddenly Wilson is crap??
Texas, you DEFINE the word “BANDWAGON” in the dictionary.
Yeah, and I’m one of the Halos fans who hated Wilson as recently as six months ago. Now that he’s donning the real AL West red, I love him as one of my own.
Plenty of hypocrisy (read: being a fan) to go around.
Wilson’s not crap. He’s good. He’s just not worth what he wanted.
And, being that the Rangers have been one of the best scouting teams over the last 4 years, I have complete faith that Darvish will succeed.
“Darvish is not crap. He’s good. He’s just not worth what he wanted.”
Only someone from Texas would take pride and gloat in having a great ‘scouting’ team. Didn’t really help in the ninth inning last two years now did it?
So because they didn’t do well in the 9th, suddenly their scouting sucks? Wow, would really like to know what that makes every other team in the league.
You’re a funny one. And the ranger’s scouting department has gotten us to where we are. Granted we sucked forever yada yada, whatever. We are good now. The Angels are good. The past is fantastic and counting rings are great but it will all come to a head this year and will make for some great baseball.
Actually every real Rangers fan was doubting Wilson for 2 years, he CHOKES in post season so enjoy him and that 100,00 mile cuban sports car.
Lebron chokes in the 4th does it make him a bad player?
it makes him ringless.
Tide makes him ringless.
Speaking of Lebron, did you hear about him bumping into Jeff Loria? (Literally bumping into)
He didnt even know who it was lol
Actually, your bullpen and right fielder choked more than Wilson ever did.
TWICE.
“every real fan”….you mean all six of you!
Zing!
I think we scared the Angel fan. He has turned to elementary school jokes.
ha halos fans are funny
he’s hot garbage now. he’s no longer their darling. same will be said toward montero, if God forbid, he stuggles early.
Actually, there are lots of fans who are eager to see what he can do. There’s a whole country who’ll be watching. I’m sure you’ve never gotten excited about seeing one of your top prospects who has never played in the majors. There’s really no reason for them not to be excited until he flops.
haha, a whole country?? Yeah right dude, every baseball fan is just itching to see Texas and a Korean pitcher.
Keep yourself sleeping at night, does it?
I guess your world only revolves around the US then. Maybe you haven’t heard, but there’s other countries across that big body of water. Maybe you should’ve turned on the tv the last few times one of these guys came over here to play. But you’re right anyhow, there’s no reason to get excited about someone until they’re a proven star here. We should all be so lucky to live under your rock. Thank you so much. We don’t know what we would do without you.
“…there’s no reason to get excited about someone until they’re a proven star here.”
Agreed!
That’s a pretty massive fail for such a short post.
I’m assuming your intentionally being ignorant with the Korean comment, and to be honest it sucks to see that. First off no one thinks its funny, so you made a racist joke that’s not funny. Also, having spent 3 years in Japan and experiencing Yu-mania firsthand, I can tell you that an extremely significant portion of the population will be following his first start (at the very least).
So get your head out of the gutter and in the real world. It’s not WWII anymore- there are multiple countries over there, and believe it or not, America (apparently with the exception of you) doesn’t hate their occupants.
Korean? Isn’t he Iraniapan (half Iranian and half Japanese)?
Wouldn’t that make him Iranianese?
Could you be more of a tool?
Yes, much better to know you’re throwing money at someone who completely wilted in the post-season…
you do realize that Yu darvish pitched against the japanese players who are typically GREAT hitters(the person with the most homeruns in the world is from japan with over 800) also yes the japanese league is much different then the MLB but this past season they switched to an MLB regulation ball and he still put up numbers that would give him a Cy young and MVP and possibly make an argument to change the name to the Yu Darvish award…..the strike zone is really the only difference…..yes the rangers spent in total 110 mill on a guy who has never pitched in the bigs but they will be paying on average Darvish less than Wilson will make per year. Darvish who is also 7 year younger than Wilson and has put up number albeit in a differen league wilson can only dream about.
Also dont talk trash to the rangers when your team is paying 21 mill over the next 3 years to Vernon wells and will be paying albert 20+ mill a season in his late 30’s (34 being the typical age of decline) also paying albert 29 mill at age 40 and 30 mill at 41 i know i know i know its albert and he very well could beat the stats and continue to hit as he does or simply slump down to below average
the angles paying 77 million for 5 players…..
Payroll expenditure has almost zero to do with forecasting a teams decline. They simply have to do a great job of constructing the rest of the team. I mean, just as they might be paying AP tons of money at 40 they will also have a bunch of vets off the payroll too and a farm system that has produced some good players.
Congrats to the Rangers and Darvish. I’m still hoping for the double whammy of an offer soon to Fielder from the Rangers.
fielder to the nats then morse to the rangers for harrison and andrus.
… Andrus won’t be dealt for Morse
Who’s going to replace Andrus? That makes no sense.
Would be Profar I’m guessing in that situation.
Profar, the guy who has never played a game above A-ball?
Won’t happen…At least for a year or 2.
Andrus + for Morse!? LOLOL
Morse is way to valuable to give up for a good defensive SS
Strike that, reverse it.
i actually really like the sound of that morse + a 2 prospect for harrison and andrus,,,,,,,,but i think what is more likely is larouch to the rays for a few prospects
The Nippon Ham Fighters recieved more for Darvish than the Padres team in 2008 and 2009 recieved, excluding Brian “.159” Giles
“The Nippon Ham Fighters obtain[ed] a $51,703,411 posting fee from the Rangers.” LOL JLEAGUE BASEBALL MAFIA!!!11!!!
They must feel like Pokemon trainers. Level 90 Yu for $51 million!
Hold that thought
can’t wait to see him pitch! Congrats to the Rangers and YU
Fielder to the Yankees on a one year deal for $7 million to “reestablish his value.” Boras takes early retirement.
that would be really funny to see happen
Fielder…. Welcome to Washington. They have been expecting your call.
Great news for Angels fans- TX when all said and done will have spent well more than $100mill on what amounts to a really good prospect. Next year is gonna be a fun one in the West.
As long as you’ve got that hotline to the future, can you tell us who the next president will be?
Ummm…he’s actually right, isn’t he? He didn’t say Yu would fail, but right now, he’s a prospect.
Great news Rangers. The Angels are still paying Vernon Wells $21 million a year and will be paying Pujols $30 million when he is 41.
Don’t forget that awefully backloaded CJ deal.
Don’t forget that awefully backloaded CJ deal.
Great news for Angels fans- TX when all said and done will have spent well more than $100mill on what amounts to a really good prospect. Next year is gonna be a fun one in the West.
Been a fan of this dude since 2009 and waiting for him to make it to MLB. Now I gotta root for Pujols, Trumbo, Morales, Hunter to go yard off him. This is like when Anakin Skywalker turned on Obi Wan.
*Edited for spelling.
Bombs away.
I don’t think Morales will be going yard on anyone this season.
The Force isn’t strong with you, eh? Fine, Wel…er…Iannetta!
It’s so cute how Angels fans keep harping about Iannetta.
Uh, he’s actually Japanese. Japanese-Iranian to be exact.
Oh, don’t bother correcting him. There’s no room for reason in here.
Korean? Lol. Whatta troll…I mean loser…I mean troll
Pssh, he ain’t no Jack Cust.
LOL
Pssh, he ain’t no Jack Cust.
Somewhere, in a dark land, at the top of a high evil looking building, sitting on a chair made of the skin of former GMs, Scott Boras is petting a cat saying “I’ll get you next time Jon Daniels!”
Korean? Lol. Whatta troll…I mean loser…I mean trolling loser
It’s obvious from the Darvish signing that Fielder lands in Houston as a member of the Astros. He and Cust in the middle of that lineup is nothing short of sickeningly frightening.
No way. He’ll be the new Yankees SS when Jeter’s hip breaks.
He could platoon between ss and 3b for the yankees. He’d also play 3b exclusively against the M’s during games at Safeco so that Pay-rod wouldn’t have to endure the boos and be melancholy over the “Who let the dog in?” signs.
No way. He’ll be the new Yankees SS when Jeter’s hip breaks.
No matter whether he flops, shines, or just gets by, this is going to be fun.
Agree, I’ve only seen YouTube highlight clips and never seen him pitch a full game but it will be fun to see what he can do in the Show. This is Good For Baseball.
Agree, I’ve only seen YouTube highlight clips and never seen him pitch a full game but it will be fun to see what he can do in the Show. This is Good For Baseball.
Lol all of the Angels fans…
6 years, $60 million. I’d say that’s…….
lol I love Curb.
6 years 111.7 million dollars for a 25 year old, 6″5′, mid 90s throwing four plus pitch having, good commanding Japan dominating pitcher with a great work ethic.
Its risky because all pitching prospects are risky, but not any more so because hes Japanese. But a 25 year old ace under contract for 6 years is pretty much the single most valuable thing to have in the major leagues, so Ill gladly take the rare chance to get one. Could end up being a mediocre disappointment, could be a steal. For a contender who can support the money, do it.
Why count the posting fee? It doesnt go towards the payroll…
While it doesn’t count toward the payroll for luxury tax purposes, they are still paying the money…
They also get to amortize the posting fee over the life of the deal, which saves them on taxes each year. If he gets the bonus, it works out to a 6 year/$103.72M contract.
Then depending on how much Japanese revenue he might bring in, the contract gets better and better.
$1M/year=$98.07M
$2M/year=$92.42M
$3M/year=$86.77M
While they will “pay” more money than CJ Wilson got, the overall value of having Darvish could work out in the Rangers favor financially.
I was not aware of the amortization aspect of the posting fee. That is interesting.
It will be interesting to see who does better between CJ and Darvish. With CJ, you should theoretically know what you are getting as long as he can keep with his last two years’ numbers. Moving from Texas to Anaheim’s park should only help his numbers, but I don’t know that I believe his ERA can get much lower.
From what I have read, Darvish has the possible making of a true ace in MLB, which CJ is not. But, he is moving to a much tougher league and a poor pitcher’s park, so I am interested and excited to see the way things play out.
I agree with you regarding things possibly working out in the Rangers’ favor better this way. So many people only look at the amount a player signs for and don’t factor in the additional revenue a player can bring.
It’s just oil money from the owners…plenty more where that came from
Because they still have to pay it? It may not count towards lux tax or payroll but that’s still the cost of obtaining him.
6 years 111.7 million dollars for a 25 year old, 6″5′, mid 90s throwing four plus pitch having, good commanding Japan dominating pitcher with a great work ethic.
Its risky because all pitching prospects are risky, but not any more so because hes Japanese. But a 25 year old ace under contract for 6 years is pretty much the single most valuable thing to have in the major leagues, so Ill gladly take the rare chance to get one. Could end up being a mediocre disappointment, could be a steal. For a contender who can support the money, do it.
100 Mil+ for a guy who has never thrown a pitch in MLB and has never even thrown a MLB size ball. Brutal.
His best season came after the league switched to MLB-sized balls.
Not true, the balls are still slightly smaller and the seams are 3 to 4 times larger than MLB’s.
In
recent years, the NPB started using a new type of baseball. I’ve heard
comparisons that the current Japanese baseball is a near-perfect clone
to its American counterpart.
Dice-K never got a chance to pitch with the ‘clone’ before coming to
America. On the other hand, Yu Darvish has pitched with the ‘clone’ and
still put up his monster numbers.
However, there are a few other noticeable differences:1) The mound in Japan is slightly lower when compared to America.2) Culturally, Japanese pitchers will take a bullpen practice session the day before a scheduled start. In that ‘practice’ session, pitchers will often throw 80 or more pitches at full strength. Obviously routine in America is much different.
mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=20036267…
The balls used in Japan Baseball have grown slightly over time, but are substantially different than the kind used in US baseball. The heavy seams used in Japan if brought here would be like raising the mound by 8 inches it is estimated. There is no question he will lose break, as any pitcher who plays overseas will tell you, but he may have a better chance than many if his hands are as big as most 6’5 people’s are, if not it will be tough on him to pitch in hot weather and with these balls.
100 Mil+ for a guy who has never thrown a pitch in MLB and has never even thrown a MLB size ball. Brutal.
This is what ron washington is doing right now with this news…..
So Wash is doing blow, while you’re blowing ____.
Great deal for Texas.
Now prince can wait till McCourt sells and then he’ll sign with the dodgers!!! Oh joy!
I guess I was wrong. Darvish has no taste in teams and will go play in Texas.
Yes, who would want to be on the two time defending AL champions with a good clubhouse, front office and minor league system. I bet he was rooting to go to the Astros.
You have no taste and no knowledge of the Rangers and the DFW area.
Maybe he didn’t want to play in front of D-bags like you.
Cheaper than I thought…Fielder next? DO IT
Yeah, no kidding. I can definitely see it if that’s all they signed him for.
He was pretty good in MVP Baseball, so he’ll likely be nothing short of the greatest player who ever lived.
Wow, what a colossal waste of money. Paying in excess of $51M just to have the rights to a $10M/year pitcher?
Yeah because you know exactly how he’s gonna turn out
That’s just how the system works. They’re paying the guy 10 mil a year. He could potentially be an ace. That’s a pretty good risk to take if you got the money.
Great move for the Rangers! I expect Darvish to be an absolute beast. If he pitches like I expect he will, other teams, especially the Yankees, will be kicking themselves for not bidding more aggressively for him for years. Kudos to the Rangers!
And they’re paying him the equivalent of less than $20 million per year with only $10 million per year counting against the luxury tax calculation!?! Wow! Again, if he pitches like I think he will, the Yankees will rue the day they passed on him.
They probably know something (make that LOTS of things) that I don’t know. So I’m probably wrong. But that’s sure the way it looks to me given the things that I do know today.
It will be interesting to see if Darvish is the ace the Rangers have been missing. He will have to be for the Rangers to stay ahead of the Angels this year. The Angels have two of the top ten pitchers in baseball in Haren and Weaver according to most experts on the MLB network. I would agree that the Phillies and Angels have the best starting staffs in baseball.
You mean like the one they just let go?
Like, he wasn’t an ace! He bombed in the postseason! Never mind what he did in the regular season!
You have to get to the postseason somehow
CJ is a big game playoff choking chump–Texas suckered the Angels into taking him so they could trade up for YU
Did they hire a young hottie to whisper “you must sign CJ Wilson” in Moreno’s ear while he slept?
Wilson was not a #1 pitcher, he will be a #3 or 4 for the Angels.
2 of the top 10? Ehh…not sure about that. Best starting staff in the AL? Yeah. Hard to argue with that.
Very interesting year, I think.
Daisuke Matsuzaka Version 2
If there was a Daisuke V2 who was half a foot taller, in much better shape with better stuff and better command.. sign me up for that.
congrats to rangers fans…your front office is clearly willing to do what it takes to win…which is more than we can say up in toronto
Wow… it took one missed opportunity for AA to go from genius to unwilling to do what it takes.
no not at all AA is doing a bangup job. but he’s handcuffed financially thats pretty obvious. anyways this has been beaten to death simply congratulating a fanbase on rooting for a team whose ownership puts their money where their mouth is.
I thought the Rogers group was the richest in baseball. The problem is the fan base is weak. Check their attendence the last few years.
AA, you snooze, you lose.
and a coach who does this
yeah and a coach who does this lol….
god dangint post my picture…..
lol disqus.
and if he is a complete bust, Nolan ryan will by Ron washington and Josh Hamilton a line of coke while the rest of team is smoking weed and drinking tequilla in the clubhouse. hey maybe they can invite the redsox out to join them? they seem to be very good at the drinking aspect
It’s going to be tough for an Asian kid to move to a place that is widely considered the most racist place in America. I hope it works out for him, but it will be very difficult.
Oh please, Texas is a very big place. Whatever posh neighborhood/apartment he lives in and around the Ballpark is hardly some backwoods country town with some 80 year old racists.
You actually think a Japanese guy going into a nice restaurant in DFW gets racist stuff said to him? What, that on his first start the fans will boo him for being Japanese/Iranian? Sigh.
Hes going to be (already is actually) a millionaire young athlete, he will live it up with no problems. Not that your random Japanese guy in DFW has any problems either.
“Oh please, Texas is a very big place.”
America gets it. Texas is big.
……….good one?
I actually laughed out loud at that.
now if he was black…then…watch out. avg black guy doesn’t stand a chance in hang ’em land.
joking….sort of.
I agree with Stark on this one… I lived down in Texas with my gf(who was asian) a year back… Texas is big… and has a huge asian population.. it won’t be that difficult for him
Texas is the most racist place in America??? You must not get out much.
Yea, DFW is so racist that we’re one of the most culturally diverse areas in the country. Why don’t you get out of your room and get a life.
culturally diverse doesn’t mean there isn’t a lot of racism. not banging the drum that it IS the most racist but the make up has zero to do with it. NYC is THEE most diverse city in the world probably, yet it didn’t keep a dude from getting a broom stick shoved up in him from the cops or from another guy being shot 40 times when he pulled out his sandwich (not that I can understand why he would choose that time to take a bite out of his sandwhich though).
That couldn’t be more wrong. Manhattan yes but there are 4 other burroughs. I found it to be such a segregated area where the Italians only hang out with Italians, Mexicans with Mexicans, Jews with Jews, Russians with Russians, etc. Even look at Boston where if you are not of the culture of a neighborhood, you don’t go there. It is not this way in Texas and a lot of this is because of the civil rights movement and people being conscientious of this. AS a country we still have major issues with this but it is not just specific areas of the country that deal with it. Now go out to the back country areas and it is a bit different. Similar to upstate NY.
$51 million posting fee
$60 millon contract
$10 potential bonus
$121 mill for a unknown in a very hitter friendly ballpark….decent signing (if he some how proves himself not to be a dice-k 2.0)
And to those saying dont count the posting fee… you should count it.. yes it doesnt go toward the rangers payroll, however that still is 51$ million the team could have been using elsewhere (fielder?/hamilton/etc)… so it does affect the team and should be totalled into everything.
I would think the biggest factors for Darvish are, the heat in Texas, the hitters ballpark, and the fact he has never played in the majors.
oh ya. When it hits those summer temps he isnt going to be used to that at all….he is going to get tired quickly and start leaving balls where they shouldnt be and they will be launched out of that park
Have you even ever been to Texas or are you just regurgitating the same excuses everyone says to try to hate on Texas?
it’s not hate but does anyone need to live in dallas to know it gets extremely hot a humid in the summer or that your ballpark serves up a lot of hrs? I mean I can go online and figure that out. also, it’s basic physiology that the more exposed to the heat you are, even when not performing anything athletic, then the more you sweat, the more electrolytes you lose and the more of a toll it takes on your body and it’s level of endurance.
It does count but the extra 10 mil is only if he is the real deal so it is only a $111 mil risk. That is still a crap ton of money but sounds better than $121. If it ends up being a $121 mil deal it means that this was all worth it.
Yeah Texas easily has enough money to extend Hamilton, Napoli, Adams, Kinsler, etc. They could possibly even have enough to offer a competitive offer for Fielder on top of all that (they’d probably offer below what he’s asking in the hopes his price finally comes down).
And cue Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports writing a new article calling the Rangers the World Series favorites.
Who’s on the mound?
Yu.
Me?
Not you, yu.
Time to bring back that joke of who’s on first.
Actually, Hu’s at shortstop.
The Rangers are gonna make some money on publicity.
if darvish ends up being as good as he is in Japan, this deal is a huuuuge bargain. 10M per year? even with the posting fee, this might be a bargain.
Seriously? There is almost no scenario where this could end up being a bargain at 20 mil per yr. If he’s a top 3 MLB pitcher, it’s not a bad deal, but other than that, bargain is beyond highly unlikely.
Top 3 MLB pitchers are worth far more than 20 million per year in their prime seasons. Signing in their 30s usually stops anyone from giving it to them.
Finally, the madness is over!
considering that the posting fee typically does not count towards the budget/ “cap”(luxury tax) this is a great deal…10 per move up to what 11.5per if Yu gets all the incentives. They should have enough money if they wanted to to go out and get fielder as well. Their cable contract 3 bill a year over 20 years which is 150 million a year. thats already even with Darvish 40+ mill more than their payroll. Considering they could use just the cable contract money for their payroll(use ticket sales, merch, vendor, ad space sales to pay employees) they could easily afford Fielder too and still have money left over.
with Darvish and arb raises their payroll for 2012 projects to 115 mill..leaving 35 mill a season left over from just the cable contract for 2012. also their boost in revenue because of the back to back world series there is more than enough money
also 2013 young and his 16 mill are off the books nathan and his 7 mill are off in 2013(assuming his 2014 option is not picked up) feldmen is probably gone after his contract so there is another 9 mill so in 2013 alone assuming options are not picked up for nathan thats 32 million dollars off the books…yes hamilton, kinsler, napoli need to be extended but there is enough money there for them and fielder to be signed
The rangers aren’t close to the cap first. Second, their tv contract ain’t 150 million per. It’s under 100 million per.
I know they are not close to the cap…also there is no such thing as a cap its the luxury tax And i know they are no where near it..their payroll last season was only 91 mill adding darvish to that its only 101 mill before arb raises…which is why i said there is more than enough money to sign fielder….also I have heard reports that yes its 80 mill but i have also read that its in the 100’s. i mean 3billion divided by 20 years is 150 a year….even if its 80 mill….devote that entire 80 mill to the payroll and they can still have a ton of extra cash to spend
All the reputable networks, including one of Fox’s own executives, state that the deal is 80 million per. They aren’t a particularly rich team, and definitely not within the Angels’ ballpark of 115-150 million per year.
I believe you mean to say they haven’t been a particularly rich team in the past.
This isn’t your father’s Rangers.
No, I simply mean to say they don’t have the ridiculous income of 150 million per year via a TV deal. They certainly have some economic clout, but don’t have “tons of extra cash to spend.”
No, but it certainly seems to be there when they need it.
It has since been reported that the deal is closer to $150 mil a year again.
google “bbtia rangers tv deal” and there is a report there from Dec 20 showing that the deal is in the $3billion range.
You mean 3 million? Either way, that’s insane.
Now the Rangers have there world series
wouldn’t you rather have Fielder and a guy like Oswalt instead of an unproven yet highly-skilled foreign player? Heck, even if Oswalt’s body doesn’t hold up you have a good backup plan with a guy like Ogando or Harrison.
rockies own
Theo is on fire
Everybody always talks about texas and the angels and rightfully so but what if the A’s won the division. How funny would that be?
Moneyball 2 baby
hahah ya i know thats what i was thinking
It wouldn’t be funny. It would be pretty cool because of how unlikely it is. But it’s just not going to happen. The A’s suck.
The A’s have no weapons to compete in this division. Next 3-5 years they will be bottom dwellers alongside the M’s and Astros. Out of these three teams I would say the Mariners look like they have a brighter future.
Rangers in a state of Yuphoria.
that might be the best YUphemism i’ve heard so far.
I hope Scott Coolbaugh makes him pay to wear #11.
Yu and Fielder will lock up the extremely weak AL West. I hope they go after Fielder. That would be awesome. If they claim they have no money they are full of it. They could lock up Hamilton, Cruz and sign Fielder if they wanted to. Hamilton is an Injury risk and Cruz will be the only one they lock up anytime soon of course they need to lock up Napoli as well though.
How do you figure the AL West is weak? Pujols, Wilson, and Darvish all signed with AL West teams. It may *may* be the best division in the AL.
b/c that division is locked up to have three 100 loss-teams at Seattle, Oakland, and Houston?
Houston not until next year, but yeah. Huge gap in that division.
In terms of locking up a division, one other good team is all thats needed to make it difficult…. and the Astros arn’t in the AL West yet.
It’s a two team race. That’s why. And next year it will still will be a two team race. Speaking of which it makes no sense for the Astro’s to move to the AL West. When it should be the KC Royals and then the Brewers could go back to where they belong in the AL Central. With the scenario. There would be no need for interleague play throughout the entire season. People act like the Cubs and Brewers are a huge rivalry and the fact of the matter is they really are not. RedSox/Yankees or Cubs/Cards that’s a real rivalry. RedSox/Yankees have some of the longest and most boring games ever as well.
Nope. The AL East is the best division in the MLB.
I think the Angels would still be as good as Texas even if they got Yu and Fielder. Angels will still have far better starting pitching with Weaver, Wilson, Haren, and Santana. The bullpen and lineup edge goes to Texas, but with Pujols and a healthly Morales the lineup gap might be surprisingly small. I expect Hunter, and Wells to bounce back a little where is I see Napoli, and Young coming down a bit. Without Fielder I would bet on the Angels beating out Texas. Pitching wins championships.
The Rangers still have a much better lineup, without Fielder, than the Angels do.
You killed your point when you said you expect Wells to bounce back after years of mediocrity, yet you trash the Rangers by saying Napoli and an ALWAYS great Michael Young will regress…
The Rangers are sooo much better, yet the Angels outscore them on the road? The Angels have such a pileup of bats now that you’ll probably see Wells only against lefties where he hit .284/.320 /.531/.851 against them
I didn’t trash anyone. Michael Young is always great no argument here, I just see his stats coming down a bit because it’s gonna be hard to beat last seasons career best batting average at the age of 35. So while it could happen I don’t think you can just pencil in a career year for the guy, he is more likely to be around his career averages which is still very good. Napoli I expect to go down much for similar reasons. I could see him repeating his power but the average he put up was way over his head last year. Wells I could see hitting better because he played below his career averages and he got in less games last year than the previous two seasons. If he has a healthy year I could see him matching Napoli with something around 260’s around 30HR. Just my opinion, nobody got trashed. And I already said the bullpen and lineup go the Rangers way. I just don’t think it will be as far a gap as you might think. Angels bullpen might not be amazing but I think it will end up being solid. As for the rotation with Yu the Rangers are still not even close to the Angels. For one thing as much as I think Yu will pitch well you can’t just pencil him in as a strength until you know. And just like everybody is doing with Bard you can’t assume Feliz is going to a great starter either. Holland looks like he could be a very good pitcher. Lewis is solid to above. But again the rest are not that great (Harrison) or unproven. So if everything goes right for their rotation I still would take the Angels. In the playoffs they are likely to be much harder to beat.
Harrison was our 2nd best starter last year. Colby had an off year because of hip issues. He was still money all postseason.
Nobody will argue for the Rangers rotation to be ahead of the Angels, but the Rangers lineup (without Prince) is still superior.
If pitching was definitively what decided championships then the Phillies would have made it. You have to have a balance. Which the Rangers have. The Angels have it now too, but at the same time, people can just walk Pujols. Nobody is going to be scared to face Wells, Hunter, or Trumbo.
The Rangers lineup is superior and I have said as much and although I also acknowledge that they have a very solid rotation I still would bet on the Angels above average lineup and far superior pitching. And yes sure they can walk Pujols sometimes but if Morales is healthy they will have someone who can really make em pay for it. The rest of the lineup is still pretty good with Kendrick, Trout emerging at some point, Hunter, Wells ect. Just my opinion though.
i would rather have texas trade for garza and sign fielder. Why waste 110 mil when you could of sat a year until he hits FA and offer him 90 mil and sign him them
because more changes that he will not sign with the Rangers if he will be a FA.
Rangers want him that badly and they should pay the price
Mystery is always involved in these posting obviously but at the parameters that are being alleged it seems fair for Texas. The guy wants to see if he can swing another pay day after this deal is done so if he can meet the alleged criteria power to him. If he reaches those bench marks throughout the contract he probably was quite the bargain. By then Texas might not need him, or someone else might be available anyway so its not exactly a loss to have to give him that contract language to possibly prevent the 6th year. I very strongly doubt he repeats those godly ERA years he had in Japan, especially because its the American league and its Texas. I do expect some bumps as well, but even still with his repretoir and frame I could see him striking out 200 batters with a respectable ERA.
Anybody know how hot it gets in Japan? I wonder how he will handle pitching in those 110 degree days in Arlington.
Well how do you handle 100 degree summers?
Pujols and CJ are WAY TOO MUCH over paid..
Cowboys #1? No. They are actually #5. It’s ManU, Yankees, Lakers, Real Madrid and then Cowboys.
Darn you Disqus.
I still think $100MM is a lot to commit to a guy who’s never thrown a pitch. Realistically, you’re probably getting somebody who’s better than league average but not a superstar. More money is tied up in him than Roy Halladay. I don’t get it.
Roy Halladay wasn’t a free agent. The Phillies gave up significant value to get him beyond the dollars, although Drabek looks like a bust.
Bottom line: the age 25-31 season of an ace caliber pitcher is probably the #1 commodity in baseball. The Rangers scouted Darvish extremely heavily, and decided on their own that he had the talent and makeup to be that kind of guy. With the rangers evaluation of Darvish, 6/110 is not unreasonable at all. Is their evaluation correct? We’ll see, but if you watched one of his complete Japanese starts you wouldn’t just be ruling him probably a bit above league average.
May 10-13 Angles @ Texas. Hopefully Yu pitches against Wilson.
I have a feeling Fielder ends up in Detroit. I doubt the Tigers could get him without a no trade clause. Just picture the Tigers this season if Cabby should get hurt too. You have basically no offense at all. I love V-Mart, I really do, but who would you rather have hitting behind Cabby, V-Mart or Fielder. If V-Mart does come back in 2013, just think what the Tigers could get for Cabby in a trade!
with the posting fee, it is going to be interesting to see if yu is worth all this money. I am interested in seeing him pitch this year.
Spring training and openning day can’t come soon enough. 29 days tills Phillies spring training starts.
Am I missing something? Is $10 mil a year too much to take a chance on Yu? The $51 million posting fee will have been earned back with the million new merchandise buying fans in Japan before Yu probably even hits the field. Even with revenue sharing the Rangers made money by signing Yu.
Not necessarily. My understanding is that the Rangers organization will see very little of the Darvish merchandise $$$ and international television $$$. Not nearly enough to recoup the posting fee, even with new in-park Japanese advertising.
What I found interesting is the first year salary of $5.5 million. So they could potentially sign Fielder this year and then after this year, either let Hamilton go, or re-sign him and clear up money by trading Cruz, Murphy or Young. At the same time, they have to lock up Kinsler and Napoli also.
What’s the big deal with the ball? Based on my reading, the baseball used in NPB and in MLB are basically the same size. Does anyone have any circumference/weight dimensions for the two different baseballs?