Who Are Yu, Mr. Darvish? A Vote For The Yankees To Go All In On Japanese Ace

Yu Darvish is expected to be available to Major League teams this offseason. Should the Yankees go after him?

Yankees 'Have Been All Over' Young Right-hander

A report from Ken Rosenthal says that highly-regarded Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish is ‘highly likely’ to be posted this offseason, making him available to the highest-bidding major league team.

Considering the mixed bag of success teams have had bringing in Japanese starters, no one is really sure about Darvish. MLB Trade Rumors notes one scout saying Darvish would likely top as a third starter. Others think the 24-year-old is the real deal. FanGraphs pointed out that heading into 2010 Darvish “had three straight seasons better than than any one Daisuke Matsuzaka managed in Japan. In each of the past three years, he’s posted a sub-2.00 era and a whip of 0.90 or better. Matsuzaka never achieved either figure during his time in NPB.”

As River Avenue Blues points out, the Yankees “have been all over Darvish,” and it would surprise no one if they make a huge bid for him.

Yankees, Mets Both Keeping An Eye On Yu Darvish

Yu Darvish, a 23-year-old right-hander, might be the next big-time starting pitcher to come from Japan to the major leagues. It seems like both the Yankees and Mets are tracking Darvish, who is not yet eligible to be posted by his Japanese team.

Entering 2010, Darvish had a 63-24 record with a 2.20 ERA in five Japanese seasons.

Considering the mixed bag of success pitchers like Daisuke Matsuzaka, Hideo Nomo, Hideki Irabu and -- regrettably for the Yankees -- Kei Igawa, have had, I would say proceed with extreme caution when considering doling out a huge sum of money to Darvish.