The Texas Rangers announced the signing of Yu Darvish this afternoon. The Japanese pitcher will join the squad in time for spring training.
The contract is said to be 6 years at $60 million. The Rangers paid a $51.7 million fee to the Japanese league and his current team for the right to negotiate and sign him. So, his impact on the Rangers is almost $112 million.
Darvish is a strong performer in Japan. He is 6'5" tall, and only 25 years old. He is said to have good stuff, and is projected as a number 4 or 5 starter (on a starting staff that is not regarded as a strong one). I have seen very little of him, all the sports reports seem to replay video of the same 3 or 4 strikeouts over and over.
The Rangers declined to offer a new contract to their staff ace, CJ Wilson. CJ was not a super strong performer, but could be counted on for 15 wins a year, and to chew up a lot of innings. CJ signed with division rival Anaheim for FAR less than what the Rangers are spending on Darvish.
Japanese pitchers tend to not do so well when they show up in the Big Leagues. I can't remember a single one who has been more than average - with most turning out to be big disappointments. I have not seen anything yet that would indicate Darvish will be any different.
I don't get it - pass on a proven performer and tell us its because of the money, and then sign an unproven gamble for a far larger amount of money? I fear they've just screwed themselves.
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