With just two weeks until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training, the top starting pitcher on the free agent market, Yu Darvish, remains unsigned.
Darvish is not still a free agent due to lack of interest, as the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies have all shown interest in him.
The Yankees reportedly made Darvish a contract offer earlier in the offseason, and he could have another five-year offer currently on the table.
But it appears that Darvish is waiting on the Los Angeles Dodgers, as Andy McCullough of the L.A. Times is reporting that he would like to return to the Dodgers and is stalling for them to clear up some money to re-sign him:
My understanding is that Yu Darvish has made clear he would like to return to the Dodgers, and part of the delay in his free agency is related to waiting to see if the team can move some of the money.
With the Dodgers expressing the desire to get below the luxury tax threshold, it is not likely that they would be able to match the five-year, nine-figure offers that Darvish may be receiving from other teams. They currently have around $185 million committed to current players, which is just below the $197 million threshold.
That could change if they are somehow able to unload Matt Kemp’s contract via trade or some of their other highly-priced players like Yasmani Grandal, Logan Forsythe or Hyun-Jin Ryu, although there hasn’t been much talk about any of those players being moved.
Another factor that could play into the Dodgers potential interest is Darvish’s falters in the World Series in 2017. The Dodgers acquired him from the Texas Rangers at the non-waiver trade deadline to put them over the top and hopefully bring home their first World Series trophy since 1988.
The move looked to be a good one, as Darvish was masterful in his first two postseason starts against the Arizona Diamondbacks and Cubs. He got touched up in both of his World Series starts though, including the decisive Game 7 loss to the Houston Astros so the Dodgers may be a bit hesitant to bring him back.
Darvish is expected to be the first starting pitcher on the free agent market to sign in the coming weeks, so the Dodgers may be running out of time to clear up money if they do want to bring him back.
