Yu Darvish “More Likely Than Not” Joining MLB in 2012
By Editorial Staff
Another week, another Yu Darvish update. No decision has been announced regarding the Japanese right-hander, but Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports is hearing that Darvish will still “more likely than not” be posted this winter. However, Chuck Johnson of nybaseballdigest.com is hearing that Darvish’s ongoing divorce proceedings may be holding up his MLB career.
Last week, during the Japan Series, Darvish’s father Farsad told reporters that it was “50-50” whether or not Yu would make the jump to MLB in 2012. Farsad said he and his son were going to have a family meeting following the Japan Series to talk things over, but the Series ended a week ago and there has still been no word on Darvish’s posting.
During a previous interview, Farsad indicated that he was hesitant for Yu to be posted because of the current system MLB and the Japanese League have in place. Farsad said that Darvish “does want to go” to the majors, but cautions “there are risks” involved.
Farsad said he “was hoping to see a rule change where the top three teams would have the chance to negotiate” for Darvish’s services instead of just one club. Farsad believes that if teams are forced to put in such a high bid to win the rights to negotiate with Yu, Darvish’s salary “is going to be that much lower”.
Beyond these issues with the posting system, Johnson is saying that Darvish’s divorce proceedings are also holding up the posting process. According to Johnson, Darvish’s “soon to be ex-wife’s lawyer wants to make sure his MLB salary is counted towards her settlement”. To ensure this, the lawyer has already filed two depositions, delaying the proceedings even further. Johnson said that “obviously, Darvish and his agent don’t want to post until the divorce is official”.
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