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.