The free-agent market has been slower than previous years to this point, as the calendar has almost turned over to 2018 and most of the offseason’s top free agents are still on the board.
That especially rings true for the starting-pitching market, as the top two starters available, Yu Darvish and Jake Arrieta, have yet to sign. Darvish has met with a few teams that are interested in him, including the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers.
The Minnesota Twins are also pursuing him, while the Los Angeles Dodgers may be considering a reunion despite his World Series struggles.
One team that has yet to enter the Darvish sweepstakes is the New York Yankees, although they are in search of adding a starter.
According to Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball, if the price were to drop for Darvish then the Yankees would seriously consider signing him:
New York Yankees people do like Yu Darvish, and at a reasonable price, he will be seriously considered. It seems everyone’s strategy this year is to wait for the price to drop.
Darvish is coming off the worst season of his Major League career, although he still possesses top-of-the-rotation stuff. In 31 starts between the Dodgers and Rangers, Darvish went 10-12 with a 3.86 ERA, 3.83 FIP and 1.16 WHIP while striking out 209 and walking 58 in 186.2 innings.
He was better after being traded to the Dodgers at the trade deadline, yielding a 3.44 ERA, 3.38 FIP and 1.15 WHIP in nine starts.
It’s currently unknown if Darvish has any offers on the table yet, but with the Twins pursuing him as hard as they are, saying he’s their top target this offseason, his price tag may not drop far enough for either the Yankees or Dodgers to get involved as they have both expressed desire to get below the luxury tax threshold in 2018.
