Chicago Cubs: Was Chris Gimenez the key to signing Yu Darvish?

His role has been noted over the winter and downplayed, but did Yu Darvish’s former catcher in Texas influence his signing with the Chicago Cubs?

The Chicago Cubs signed the premium free agent of the offseason when they snagged Yu Darvish. Could signing backup catcher Chris Gimenez have influenced the final decision that made Darvish a Cub?

Gimenez/Darvish relationship

Darvish and Gimenez were together for two seasons with the Texas Rangers. Gimenez served as Darvish’s personal catcher while Darvish was healthy and Gimenez was up at the major league level. The combination led to a 3.29 ERA over 12 starts.

Earlier this offseason, many truly felt the Minnesota Twins’ stated intentions of pursuing Darvish were simply fodder until a December article from Twins beat writer Mike Berardino mentioning Gimenez’s “sales pitch” to the right-hander.

“I know he was very interested in the vision (the front office) had,” said Gimenez, who still hopes to re-sign with the Twins after taking his free agency last month. “He actually called me right over Thanksgiving break and asked me about the organization. Obviously, he has a very good familiarity with Thad, but he was asking about the coaching staff, the players, the types of rules.”

Gimenez then had to go on Twitter and defend himself, stating (paraphrased) that he was simply having a conversation with a friend, not trying to push him in any one direction, though the quote above certainly was presented to suggest otherwise to readers.

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This feeling became so pervasive that when the Cubs ended up signing the free agent Gimenez to a minor league deal (after his best pro season, no less) on January 22nd, Twins blog sites responded with dread.

After hitting well last season and being a great clubhouse guy for the Twins during their run to the playoffs, Gimenez could certainly fill a role that the Cubs desperately missed last year with the loss of David Ross in their clubhouse.

While he’s not an elite glove man and doesn’t swing an amazing bat, he is the best relief pitcher playing catcher in the entire league!

Next: Cubs sign Darvish

I’m not saying he did recruit Darvish to the Chicago Cubs. I’m not saying he didn’t. It remains truth that when Darvish signed, Gimenez was one of the first to offer a Cubs-related Yu pun: