Could the Yankees Seriously Make a Run at Yu Darvish?

The New York Yankees need starting pitching, this much we know. Who will the team go after, if anyone, though is anyone’s guess including the Yankees GM Brian Cashman. There’s that name again. With Michael Pineda done for the season after undergoing Tommy John surgery yesterday and top arms like Jose Quintana off the board to the Chicago Cubs the Yankees may look to either the Oakland Athletics starter Sonny Gray or a new name that is entering the fold, the Texas Rangers right-hander Yu Darvish. Could the Yankees seriously make a run at Yu Darvish? Keep reading.

According to Jerry Crasnick the Rangers are willing to listen to offers on both Darvish and Cole Hamels as the team slips further and further behind the Houston Astros in the AL West Division race. Crasnick also noted that the Rangers would like to retain Darvish beyond the 2017 season much like the Yankees did with Aroldis Chapman last season so this could be a true rental for New York, and the cost for the Japanese-born right-hander should reflect that.

What would the Yankees be acquiring if the team did pull off a trade for Darvish? The 30-year old sports a 3.45 ERA in 125.1 innings at the time of this writing here in 2017 and all his peripherals and sabermetrics paint a comparable story. Darvish is once again the model of consistency and would fit at the top or near the top of any MLB rotation. Darvish still issues a few too many walks for your liking which is evident by his 3.02 BB/9 ration but he makes up for that a bit with a 9.41 K/9 ratio and 3.73 FIP. Darvish is also a bit home run prone at this point in his career which may scare the Yankees a little but again this is a true rental and would only be until the end of this season. You can live with a 0.94 career HR/9 ratio for a couple months if it leads you into the postseason.

Darvish is not what the Yankees have openly expressed that they are interested in. He is on the wrong side of 30, although he isn’t old by any means, and he isn’t controllable beyond the 2017 season. You have to keep in mind though that the Yankees came up with this statement before Michael Pineda underwent Tommy John surgery. If the team wants to compete in 2017, and that is still a big “if” as the team looks to be also content with continuing the youth movement at any cost, the team will need to add a starting pitcher. Whether that pitcher is Sonny Gray, Yu Darvish, another name we aren’t talking about or Chance Adams remains to be seen but the Yankees need another starter. Period. I, for one, am not sold on Bryan Mitchell. Will that pitcher be Darvish and at what cost? Stay tuned.