Texas has 30 days to real an agreement with Darvish. If an agreement is not reached then the Rangers will not have to pay the posting fee to Hokkaido Nipoon-Ham. Texas general manager Jon Daniels believes a deal will get done in relatively short order, especially because of the huge fee the Rangers will be paying to the Japanese club. "Our ownership went the extra mile on this one," Daniels said.
Darvish is considered the best pitcher in Japan and draws comparisons to Daisuke Matsuzaka who the Red Sox signed back in 2006. Boston paid $51.1 million in a posting fee and then signed Matsuzaka to a six-year deal worth about $52 million.
Texas will likely have to make some decisions in their starting rotation if they sign Darvish as expected. The Rangers already have Colby Lewis, Derek Holland, Matt Harrison, Alexi Ogando and Neftali Feliz so the addition of Darvish would give them six pitchers for five spots. "If we're able to sign him, then we'll have a very good problem on our hands," Daniels said.
Darvish was 18-6 this past season in Japan and led the league with a 1.44 ERA and 276 strikeouts. He has pinpoint control as he walked just 36 batters in 232 innings. Darvish is 93-38 with a 1.99 ERA in his career in Japan. "Obviously, it's a very exciting night for our organization, our fans and our community," Daniels said. "We're looking for any opportunity to improve our club, not just for next season but for the long term."
The question to answer next season with Texas Rangers betting is whether or not Darvish will be any good in the Major Leagues. Matsuzaka had a couple of good seasons for the Red Sox before wearing down so perhaps Darvish will be worth the money for at least a couple of years. Keep up to date with the latest baseball betting news by checking out the BetDSI Blog.
