The Yu Darvish bidding sweepstakes has come to a close. The deadline to enter a bid for the Japanese pitching phenom was 5 p.m. EST today.
At least one bid was placed today (via ESPN Dallas/Fort Worth). However, MLB will not disclose the identity of the major league team that entered the bid. After MLB notifies Darvish's team, the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters, of the amount of the highest bid (but not the team which entered it), the Japanese Commissioner's Office will then have until 5 p.m. EST on Dec. 20 to tell MLB if the bid has been accepted or rejected.
If the Japanese team accepts the bid, MLB will unveil the identity of the team that then has 30 days to negotiate with Darvish about a contract. If no agreement is reached, the posting fee will be returned to the MLB club.
We don't want to read too much into the fact that ESPN Dallas/Forth Worth ran a story and ESPN New York did not. The Rangers were an interested party and the Yankees were downplaying their interest in Darvish, after all. The waiting game continues.