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Yu Darvish

Cherington On Madson, Saunders, Melancon, Darvish

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Red Sox GM Ben Cherington appeared on MLB Network Radio's "Inside Pitch" with Jim Bowden this afternoon to speak about the club's offseason plans.  Alex Speier of WEEI.com has a partial transcript of the interview and here are some highlights…

  • Cherington said the Red Sox are looking for rotation depth.  The team is satisfied with Jon Lester, Josh Beckett and Clay Buchholz at the top of the rotation so the Sox "don’t feel like we’re backed into a place where we need to break the door in for a top-of-the-rotation starter," Cherington said.  "If we can do that and it makes sense for us, then we’ll certainly do that. We’re always looking for ways to do that. But…we’re in good position there and can kind of let the market come to us a little bit."
  • To this end, Cherington said "the timing wasn’t right" for the team to bid on Yu Darvish.
  • Cherington said he had been in contact with Ryan Madson and Joe Saunders' representatives "as well as several other free agent options." 
  • The newly-acquired Mark Melancon projects as Boston's closer, at least for now.  “As I told Mark on the phone when I talked to him, we believe he can close….If the season opened tomorrow, that’s what he’d be doing,” Cherington said.  This, of course, could easily change should the Red Sox sign Madson or trade for Andrew Bailey.
  • The Red Sox have interviewed Brad Arnsberg and Neil Allen about the vacant pitching coach job and also talked to "several" other candidates.

Latest On Bids For Yu Darvish

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6:46pm: The Nippon Ham Fighters are expected to accept a posting price on Darvish just before Tuesday's deadline, tweets Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com.

2:14pm: There are strong signs the Blue Jays and Rangers made serious bids, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter).

9:43am: There's "buzz" that Toronto had a "whopper of an offer," according to Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News (on Twitter). Grant suggests the Rangers bid in the $40-49MM range.

THURSDAY, 7:44am: The Cubs placed a bid on Darvish, according to Phil Rogers of the Chicago Tribune. The Rangers and Blue Jays placed bids, according to Jim Bowden of MLB Network Radio (on Twitter).

WEDNESDAY: The posting system is far from transparent to begin with and tonight’s barrage of tweets, articles and blog posts probably didn’t make it any easier for fans to decipher. If you’d rather skip our lengthy summary of the most recent Yu Darvish rumors and read on to the essentials, you’re in the right place.

The identity of the team that won exclusive negotiating rights with Darvish remains unknown, but here’s what we do know. The deadline for teams to bid for negotiating rights with Darvish via the posting system passed earlier this evening. The Nippon Ham Fighters plan to accept the top bid — and it’s reportedly “sky-high.” Nippon Ham, which doesn't know the identity of the MLB team that won the bidding, has until 4pm CDT on December 20th to accept or reject the high bid. 

The Yankees are the one team that’s known to have placed a bid on the 25-year-old right-hander. Conversely, the Giants, Athletics, Marlins, Mets, Rays, Angels, Twins, Red Sox and Orioles are out of the mix for Darvish, according to tonight’s reports.

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. MLB agents suggested to MLBTR’s Tim Dierkes that it will cost at least $100MM to lock Darvish up, including the posting fee and contract.

AL East Notes: Darvish, Varitek, Orioles

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The AL East will look considerably different if Yu Darvish joins the Yankees or Blue Jays this offseason. Those two clubs had some level of interest in the right-hander, but we don’t yet know whether they won the bidding for him. Here are some AL East links as we await news on Darvish…

  • Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star suggests the Blue Jays would have done well to "go big or go home" in this week's bidding for Darvish. The Blue Jays haven't confirmed how much they bid or even that they placed a bid, but rumors about the team's aggressiveness continue to swirl.
  • The Red Sox will continue talking with Jason Varitek about the possibility of a reunion, GM Ben Cherington said, according to Alex Speier of WEEI.com. "Our hope is that Tek will always be a part of the Red Sox in some way," Cherington said.
  • Dan Connolly of the Baltimore Sun suggests the Orioles are looking for more starting pitching and considering upgrades at third base, where Chris Davis and Matt Antonelli are tentatively set to play.

Bidding Period For Yu Darvish Ends

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The deadline for teams to submit bids to the Nippon Ham Fighters for the exclusive rights to negotiate with Yu Darvish passed at 4pm central time today.  Nippon Ham has until 4pm CDT on December 20th to accept or reject the high bid, according to a Japanese report passed along by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker (on Twitter).  The latest updates:

  • The Giants did not bid on Darvish, according to John Shea of the San Francisco Chronicle (Twitter link).
  • The A's didn't bid on Darvish, according to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle (on Twitter).
  • The Marlins did not bid on Darvish, according to Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald (on Twitter).
  • The Mets didn't place a bid, Howard Megdal of the Journal News reports.
  • The Yankees' bid is modest, according to Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Indications are the winning bid is "sky high."
  • Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports reports (on Twitter) that the Fighters plan to accept the posting bid no matter how large it is.
  • The Nippon Ham Fighters were very excited by how large the high bid was according to Danny Knobler of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). Still no word on the the money, though.
  • The Yankees did post a bid, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (Twitter link). 
  • The Rays did not bid, according to Marc Topkin of the St. Petersburg Times (on Twitter).
  • The Angels did not bid on Darvish, according to MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez (on Twitter).
  • Three MLB executives speculated that the Blue Jays and Rangers are candidates to win the bidding for Darvish, according to ESPN.com's Buster Olney (on Twitter).
  • The Twins did not bid on Darvish, according to Joe Christensen of the Minneapolis Star Tribune (on Twitter).
  • The Red Sox did not bid on Darvish, according to Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe (on Twitter).
  • At least one team submitted a bid on Darvish, according to Jack Curry of the YES Network (on Twitter).  Nippon, which doesn't know the identity of the MLB team that won the bidding, must decide whether to accept the high bid by Tuesday.
  • One MLB official expects an announcement regarding the winning bid tonight or tomorrow morning, tweets Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post.
  • The Orioles are not bidding on Darvish, Roch Kubatko of MASNsports.com reports (on Twitter).
  • Darvish has more leverage than any previous player coming from Japan to MLB, one executive tells Yahoo's Jeff Passan, because the righty seems willing to stay with the Fighters.  In October, my poll of five agents and one team executive showed that they felt he has the leverage to extract a five or six-year deal worth $72-75MM from the winning team, on top of a posting fee for the Fighters ranging from $30-55MM.  Passan's survey of six executives suggests the Rangers and Blue Jays are favorites for Darvish and the Nationals, Yankees, and Mariners may submit bids.  Darvish appears to have a strong preference for the West Coast.  Passan feels that the higher the posting fee gets, the less likely Darvish is to sign.
  • In a poll of over 26,000 MLBTR readers yesterday, 27% felt the Yankees would win the bid, followed by 17% for the Blue Jays and 15% for the Rangers.

Poll: Which Team Will Win The Rights To Darvish?

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MLB teams have less than 24 hours to submit bids for Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish, who's available via the posting system. The Nationals, Yankees, A's, Rangers, Red Sox and Blue Jays have been linked to Darvish this month and other interested clubs may be lurking. MLB agents told MLBTR that they expect Darvish to require a financial commitment in excess of $100MM, including the posting fee and contract.

Many teams could use Darvish atop their respective rotations, but which one will win the bidding for him? By the way, if you're unsure, you're in good company — MLB teams don't know the answer to this question, either.

Which team will win the rights to Yu Darvish?
Yankees 26.76% (7,531 votes)
Blue Jays 18.35% (5,166 votes)
Rangers 15.02% (4,227 votes)
Other 12.14% (3,417 votes)
Red Sox 9.37% (2,638 votes)
Mariners 8.79% (2,475 votes)
Nationals 7.80% (2,196 votes)
Athletics 1.77% (497 votes)
Total Votes: 28,147

International Notes: Darvish, Soler

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The Orioles are nearing a deal with Tsuyoshi Wada, but they’re far from the only team that’s eyeing players on the international market. Here’s the latest, starting with another Japanese pitcher…

  • If the high bid for Yu Darvish is substantial, "he will be far less likely to settle on a contract he believes fair," Yahoo's Jeff Passan writes. Darvish, who believes the posting system is unfair, would prefer to play for a West Coast team, Passan reports. 
  • Some teams prefer Cuban outfielder Jorge Soler to Yoenis Cespedes, Jim Callis of Baseball America writes. Had Soler been available in the 2010 amateur draft, Callis expects he would have been a top-five selection. Callis compares Soler to Royals outfield prospect Bubba Starling and says he's more talented than Leonys Martin of the Rangers.

Olney On Braun, Hanley, Darvish, Pujols, A’s

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A few notes from Buster Olney's latest Insider-only blog entry at ESPN.com:

  • Olney discusses the Ryan Braun bombshell, noting players across the league "are much more vigilant about PED use than they used to be." While players often treated PED users with indifference in the past, many now view users as a threat to their livelihood. The Brewers released a statement on Braun late last night.
  • At least four teams have talked to the Marlins about a Hanley Ramirez trade, but none of the discussions seem to have progressed at all.
  • Within the industry, the Rangers are viewed as the frontrunner for Yu Darvish, given the extensive scouting they've done.
  • The fact that Albert Pujols agreed to sign with the Angels without a single face-to-face visit with the Angels' brass or to Anaheim is a strong indicator that Pujols was unhappy with the Cardinals' negotiations, says Olney.
  • Having dealt Trevor Cahill and Craig Breslow, the Athletics will continue making moves and will "probably" trade Andrew Bailey and Gio Gonzalez in the coming weeks.

Sherman On Darvish, Buehrle, Fielder, Jones

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Joel Sherman of the New York Post shares a few Yankees items and more from around baseball…

  • The Yankees have a number of concerns about Yu Darvish and team officials "sounded pessimistic about making a significant posting bid, if they submit one at all."  Given how the Yankees have been linked to Darvish for months, it's hard to believe they won't be bidding on the star pitcher, so this could well be some misdirection on the Bombers' part.
  • The Yankees were interested in Mark Buehrle but wouldn't offer the veteran more than a two-year contract.  This clearly wasn't going to get it done given the large market for Buehrle, who signed a four-year, $58MM pact with the Marlins.
  • After "canvassing executives," Sherman finds the consensus is that Prince Fielder will sign with the Cubs.  The belief is that Theo Epstein won't pass up the chance to acquire a slugger like Fielder given the lack of power hitters coming onto the market, and Epstein wants to make "a statement sign" in his first year in Chicago.
  • Andruw Jones is likely to re-sign with the Yankees but the team will see if they can address starting pitching before taking care of their backups.  Jones, for his part, plans to compete for a starting job this spring.

Bidding For Yu Darvish Ends Wednesday

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6:22pm: The Nationals have interest in Darvish, writes Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post. GM Mike Rizzo didn't divulge whether the Nats plan to bid, but his refusal to comment suggests to Kilgore that they will.

4:50pm: Now that Darvish has been posted, teams will have until 4:00pm CST on December 14th (four business days) to submit bids, tweets Buster Olney.

12:40pm: The Yankees are unsure about whether they'll bid on Darvish, tweets Buster Olney.  He considers their interest lukewarm.  I think everyone's playing coy at this stage; we'll see where the bids were when the dust settles.  By the way, Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski said this week he will not be bidding on Darvish, according to Jason Beck.

11:07am: The Dodgers won't be bidding on Darvish, tweets Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times, but A's assistant GM David Forst wouldn't rule it out in talking to Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.  Evan Grant of the Dallas Morning News hears the Rangers aren't willing to gamble $100MM on Darvish.  The Red Sox will discuss Darvish but feel pretty good about the front end of their rotation already, GM Ben Cherington told reporters.

4:56am: Following the announcement last night that the Nippon-Ham Fighters will post ace Yu Darvish, Ken Rosenthal and Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports write that the Rangers, Blue Jays, and Yankees are all expected to bid on the Japanese righty. ESPN's Buster Olney also tweets that rival executives are expecting both the Rangers and Blue Jays to bid big Darvish, with the Rangers fueled by the expected loss of C.J. Wilson to the Angels or Marlins.

Rosenthal and Morosi write that the Red Sox could be a wild card for a big Darvish bid, as new manager Bobby Valentine, who saw Darvish first-hand many times as manager of the Chiba Lotte Marines from 2004-2009, is said to "love" the 25-year old. FOX's duo also note that both Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos and Rangers GM Jon Daniels saw Darvish pitch in Japan last season.

The posting period will last four days, and the winning team will have a 30-day exclusive negotation period with Darvish and his representatives Don Nomura and Arn Tellem. If a contract agreement cannot be reached between Darvish and the winning team, that team will be refunded the total of the posting fee.

Tim Dierkes and Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Yu Darvish To Be Posted Thursday

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Nippon-Ham Fighters ace Yu Darvish will be posted tomorrow, tweets agent Don Nomura. Dylan Hernandez of the L.A. Times tweets confirmation from Darvish himself, while NPB Tracker's Patrick Newman provides a translation of Darvish's message to fans.

We've heard in recent weeks that Darvish may be posted following the Winter Meetings, and that appears to be his case. His father had told reporters that there was a "50-50" chance he'd be posted at all, and in Jon Paul Morosi's Winter Meetings preview, we heard that Darvish may have become "disillusioned" with the posting system, at least in part due to Hisashi Iwakuma's 2010 situation with the Athletics.

All of that seems to be moot now, as the 25-year-old Darvish is set to get the opportunity to take his oustanding credentials to Major League Baseball. Darvish hasn't posted an ERA above 2.00 since 2007. HIs 2011 resume included 232 innings of 1.44 ERA ball with a whopping 10.7 K/9 and a 1.4 BB/9 that contributed to his microscopic 0.83 WHIP. He allowed only five home runs in those 232 innings.

To this point, Darvish has been linked to a number of Major League teams. Danny Knobler of CBS Sports speculates (on Twitter) that the Rangers, Yankees, and Blue Jays could be Darvish's most likely suitors.

He will be viewed as an alternative to C.J. Wilson and Mark Buehrle, the market's two most sought after pitchers prior to his posting. When Tim Dierkes conducted a poll of five agents and one MLB executive in October, the consensus was that Darvish's posting fee could rival that of Daisuke Matsuzaka and that a $100MM commitmement was likely. In addition to Nomura, Darvish is represented by Arn Tellem.

 

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