The MLB free agent market saw some action on Thursday when Lorenzo Cain agreed to a contract with the Milwaukee Brewers, but the likes of Jake Arrieta, Yu Darvish and Eric Hosmer are among the notable players still without a new contract.
A report indicated Darvish was expected to sign with a team this week, and it came on the heels of the right-hander reportedly having a five-year offer in hand. It’s unclear which team may have presented Darvish with the contract.
The New York Yankees previously submitted a contract, but Darvish deemed the reported seven years and $160 million as inaccurate.
In addition to the Yankees, the Chicago Cubs, Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers have all been linked to the 31-year-old at some point this winter. Talks with the Cubs were recently said to be ongoing.
With that Jon Heyman of Today’s Knuckleball reports some view the Cubs as he favorite to sign Darvis:
The Chicago Cubs are viewed as having a decent chance to land top free agent starter Yu Darvish, though it isn’t known where the negotiations currently stand.
The Twins, Brewers, Phillies and Yankees have shown interest as well, but some folks around the game see the Cubs as the favorite, for various reasons.
Similar to when they signed David Ross after landing Jon Lester in free agency, the Cubs signed signed veteran catcher Chris Gimenez to serve as the backup to Willson Contreras this season.
Gimenez developed a strong rapport with Darvish when both were with the Rangers. Although he faltered in the World Series, the Cubs saw firsthand how dominant of a pitcher Darvish can be.
He limited them to one run on six hits, and had seven strikeouts over 6.1 innings at Wrigley Field to improve to 2-0 at that juncture of the postseason.
