MLB Free Agency: Pitcher Yu Darvish Waiting for Best Contract Offer

Darvish reportedly turned down a nine-figure, five-year offer recently

By John Paul Sunico, Christian Post Contributor Friday, February 09, 2018

The free agent market is still teeming with potential difference-makers, including ace starter Yu Darvish.

Darvish spent the first few years of his MLB career establishing himself as an elite strikeout artist with the Texas Rangers.

As shown in Baseball Reference, Darvish managed to put up some eye-popping strikeout totals and rates while fooling hitters as the Rangers' ace, and though his stint with the Los Angeles Dodgers last season ended on a sour and disappointing note, the 31-year-old still retained that ability to strike hitters out for the majority of his run with that club.

His struggles in the World Series may have dimmed his star power somewhat, but Darvish is still fully capable of being a significant contributor to whichever team signs him.

Darvish knows that too, which is why he is continuing to wait for the contract offer he wants.

Jon Heyman of FanRag Sports recently passed along some information from a source who indicated that Darvish had declined an offer that could have paid him a total of $110 million over five years.

Heyman also noted in that article that Darvish had been hoping to receive an offer of a seven-year, $175 million variety, but now, the pitcher may settle for one that pays something closer to a total of $130 million.

Darvish may be continuing to hold out because it seems that there are teams that could still give him the offer he wants.

Teams like the Chicago Cubs, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers have been mentioned as potential landing spots for Darvish, with the Cubs seen by some executives as the frontrunner, ESPN's Jerry Crasnick reported previously.

There is not a ton of time remaining in this offseason, but it would hardly be surprising if Darvish still managed to come away with the offer he desires before it ends.

More news about the latest MLB rumors should be made available soon.