The winning posting bid for the right to negotiate with star Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish is expected to be announced Monday night, according to published reports. That winner is not expected to be the New York Yankees.
A variety of reports have indicated that both the Toronto Blue Jays and Texas Rangers have outbid the Yankees by a substantial margin, possibly posting bids in excess of the $51.1 million posting fee Daisuke Matsuzaka garnered. Toronto is considered the likely winner.
This would have to considered a huge risk for the Blue Jays, especially considering they will have to dole out a rich long-term contract on top of the posting in order to sign the 25-year-old Darvish.
What of the Yankees, though? Why weren’t they more aggressive here? They are obviously reluctant to trade top prospects for pitching which they have said they need.
Can this be considered an indication that the free-spending, win-at-all-costs days of the Yankees are gone? Are they now a business first and the Evil Empire second? With Hal Steinbrenner in charge after the passing of his father are the Yankees now more concerned about their bottom line? Are profits now more important than chasing championships?
I don’t know any of that for a fact. You do, however, have to wonder.