January 18, 2012

Rangers Running Out of Time to Sign Yu Darvish: The Texas Rangers have until 5 p.m. today to reach a contract with Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish or he'll continue to play in his native country. The Rangers paid $51.7 million to his team for the rights to negotiate with the 25-year-old, but that money won't be paid unless he signs. Jeff Passan of Yahoo Sports said the sticking point is whether he's signed for five or six years. "Both sides expect to complete a deal," Passan writes.

posted by rcade to baseball at 09:24 AM - 4 comments

Six years, $60 million. I expected he'd cost more.

posted by rcade at 05:22 PM on January 18, 2012

It's more than the Sox paid for Dice-K. Ah, those were the days.

posted by yerfatma at 05:24 PM on January 18, 2012

Cheaper than I figured as well (not counting the cash to talk to him, of course). I think the aspect of this signing that gives me the most hope is hearing that the Rangers scouting department had at least one person present for every pitch Yu threw last year. They've done their research and feel reasonably comfortable with the signing. Plus, he's a 4+ pitch pitcher, unlike Dice.

posted by Ufez Jones at 07:36 PM on January 18, 2012

Plus, he's a 4+ pitch pitcher, unlike Dice.

I did not follow the Red Sox or Matsuzaka well enough to know whether initial perception was borne out in reality, but much of the hype at the time Daisuke was signed related to his incredible arsenal of pitches.

posted by holden at 11:23 PM on January 18, 2012

You're not logged in. Please log in or register.