NEWSLETTER
This morning, Jerry Crasnick reports that Rangers GM Jon Daniels has told interested teams that he’s now willing to move Yu Darvish in the right deal.
Meanwhile, T.R. Sullivan and Patrick Mooney separately report that sources indicate the Rangers are “strongly leaning toward not trading”/”unlikely to move” Darvish before the July 31 Trade Deadline.
Strictly speaking, the reports are not incompatible. In fact, I reckon it’s probably true that the Rangers are willing to trade Darvish in the right deal, but perhaps their vision of the “right” deal is sufficiently strong that they do not expect a contender to pony up the appropriate price.
The Cubs once again come up for passing mention as an interested team, but I would say it remains the case that if trading Darvish at all is unlikely, that goes double for him actually going to the Cubs. The Rangers are still just a handful of games out of the Wild Card race, and in order to end that pursuit while also trading away one of their most popular and marketable players, the Rangers will need to get a serious haul.
While I do think the Cubs have the pieces to get it done, I don’t know that it would be the best use of their limited prospect currency at this point. Sure, Darvish upgrades the club in a meaningful way, but I’m not sure it doesn’t make more sense to use a little less of your assets to get a veteran back-up catcher, and a relief arm.
As for the Rangers and Darvish, he’ll make his final start before the deadline tomorrow, unless he’s traded sooner. If you’re a fan of fun, you’re going to want to root for Darvish to stay healthy through that start, and for the Rangers to lose a few more games. Then, I would guess, the gloves come off.
Of course, even if Darvish doesn’t come to the Cubs, he could still impact them, both by way of disrupting the trade market, and by going to an NL contender – the Dodgers and Brewers have both been linked to Darvish.
