Following the news that the Texas Rangers had won the initial bidding for Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish, most expected sides would ultimately reach an agreement. Not much has changed in this regard, but Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports is reporting that Darvish and the Rangers do still have some negotiating to do before Wednesday’s deadline.
According to Passan, the “greatest sticking point” between the Rangers and Darvish is the length of the 25-year-old’s potential contract. While Darvish would prefer a five-year deal, the Rangers are hoping to lock Yu up for six seasons.
If this sounds strange to you, it kind of is.
Usually free agents and their representation are the ones pushing for more years and the teams signing said players would like reduced contracts. In Darvish’s case, normal has been turned on its head.
Passan says the reason for this is that a shorter-term deal would actually favor Darvish in this case.
Signing a five as opposed to a six-year contract would allow Darvish to hit free agency one season sooner, which would let Yu “reap market-value dollars instead of the below-market contract Texas is offering”. The Rangers won sole negotiating rights for Darvish, and whatever deal they would reach with Darvish figures to be less than what he would have gotten via free agency.
While Passan says this extra year is a sticking point, he notes that the chances of a deal between the Rangers and Darvish totally falling through are “minimal”. Both sides are said to have a “strong and respectful” relationship and many still expect a deal to ultimately get done.
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