This Major League Baseball offseason has been an unusual one, as with less than a month until the start of Spring Training, nine of the top 10 free agents, plus many others, are still unsigned.
Among the top free agents still looking for a home is Yu Darvish, who spent the 2017 season with the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. Plenty of teams have shown interest in the four-time All-Star, and he reportedly has at least one five-year offer on the table.
Returns to either Texas or Los Angeles are both still possibilities, although the Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, Minnesota Twins and New York Yankees are all also reportedly pursuing the 31-year-old.
It appears a resolution on where Darvish will be playing this season and beyond could come sooner rather than later, as according to Jon Morosi of MLB Network, he is expected to sign with a team this week:
Source: Yu Darvish is increasingly likely to sign with an @MLB team this week. #Twins are among the teams with whom he is engaged in ongoing discussions. @MLBNetwork
— Jon Morosi (@jonmorosi) January 24, 2018
Darvish is coming off arguably his worst season since joining the Majors in 2012. In 31 starts between the Rangers and Dodgers, he went 10-12 while amassing a 3.86 ERA and 3.83 FIP — all career-highs — over 186.2 innings with 209 strikeouts to 58 walks.
It was his first full season coming off Tommy John surgery though, so there is belief that he was not 100 percent healthy and will be back to his normal self in 2018.
At his age, this could be Darvish’s last opportunity to earn a lucrative contract on the free-agent market, so whoever he signs with could be the team willing to offer him the most years and money.
Darvish has expressed interest in returning to the Dodgers, but with their goal of getting below the luxury tax threshold, it doesn’t seem likely that the two sides reach an agreement.
