Why the New York Yankees won’t win the Yu Darvish sweepstakes
By Kyle Cardoza
Darvish isn’t worth the greenbacks
C.C. Sabathia and Masahiro Tanaka both earned more than $20 million last season alone. If the Yankees sign Darvish, the contract will likely be worth that much per season, if not more.
Nine of the league’s pitchers currently rank among the list of the league’s 20 highest-paid players, all at more than $20 million a season. New York signed massive contracts before, but mostly to position players.
If they stay dialed in on Darvish, he could request between $20 and $25 million. Just four starting pitchers earned more than that in 2017. Two pitched during the World Series. The other two were virtually worthless.
That’s what makes a significant, lengthy contract a risk most teams won’t take. While Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw put up worthwhile numbers last year, guys like David Price and Felix Hernandez didn’t deserve nearly as much as they received.
Price’s contract, thus far, looks like an obscene mark on the Red Sox’s payroll. Injuries limited the left-hander to just 74 2/3 innings last season, as he attempted to rebound from a subpar 2016 campaign – based on Price’s standards. If the southpaw bounces back this year, maybe he’ll be worth the $30 million he earns.
Hernandez is a different story because he’s been in Seattle for his entire career. He also signed his deal in 2013, when he was still a beast on the bump. Now he’s in the final years of the contract and a mid-tier starter at best, based on his 4.01 ERA across the previous two years.
No Cy Young winner from the past two seasons ranks among this group of guys. Thus, a player’s price doesn’t guarantee an elite season or stint with any team.
Hence, if Darvish wants a contract like that of Masahiro Tanaka, the Yankees will take a hard pass. His career 3.42 ERA and 11 K/9 rate look appealing. And he may well be worth $25 million a year. But it is too risky of a move at this time.
And New York doesn’t have enough cap space to fulfill a massive contract like that anyways. That could change if Cashman can deal Jacoby Ellsbury or some other players.
As of now, it’s not likely.