When the Los Angeles Dodgers acquired Yu Darvish at last season’s non-waiver trade deadline, it was with an eye on reaching their first World Series since 1988. It required sending Willie Calhoun, among others, to the Texas Rangers.
The decision appeared to be a sound one, as Darvish pitched well down the stretch of the regular season and then was masterful in each of his first two postseason starts. The right-hander earned wins against the Arizona Diamondbacks in the National League Division Series and the Chicago Cubs in the NL Championship Series.
But things started to unravel from there, as Darvish was horrific in both of his World Series starts against the Houston Astros, including the decisive Game 7 loss. Darvish gave up a combined nine hits and eight earned runs in 3.1 innings in the two outings.
Darvish is now a free agent and has expressed desire in returning to the Dodgers, but ownership may have mixed feelings over re-signing him because of the poor showing in the World Series, via Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball:
But another hurdle is said to be some ambivalence by at least some on the subject from ownership following Darvish’s rough World Series, according to sources.
Perhaps a bigger issue for the Dodgers in potentially bringing Darvish back is the nine-figure salary he commands. The Dodgers have expressed desire in getting below the luxury tax threshold in 2018, and as it currently stands then would need to unload other money if they want to re-sign Darvish.
Other teams that have reportedly shown interest in Darvish are the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins.
Darvish has made it known that he would like to return to the Dodgers and may be stalling a bit so they can shed salary and in turn offer him a contract. Though, that may be a bit of a long shot given how many other teams are said to have interest.
