One of the best possible options for a starting pitcher acquisition this off-season is now going to be available nearing the end of the Winter Meetings as Yu Darvish has announced via Nikkan Sports that he’s decided to be posted. For those who don’t know about Darvish, the primary thing you should know is that he would immediately become the best starting pitching option on the market — above even Mark Buehrle, C.J. Wilson or any other names that you’ve heard.
Darvish is likely to cost somewhere north of $100 million after everything is said and done given that a team will have to win him with a high bid to even be able to negotiate a contract with him. The process should be similar to what fans watched the Boston Red Sox go through to get Daisuke Matsuzaka a few years ago.
Just last year, Darvish went 17-6 with 223 innings pitched with a 1.49 ERA and a 843 WHIP. In that time, he threw 261 strikeouts and only had 35 walks.