Rough translations of Yu Darvish’s tweets last night about his meeting earlier in the day with the Cubs seemed to suggest he had another meeting on tap for today. But that was neither a sure read, nor was it clear – if we were reading it right – what kind of meeting it would be.
Well, if Jon Heyman’s report is correct, it’s another team meeting, and this time Darvish is entertaining the Astros:
yu darvish is meeting with another team as you read this, 1 day after he met with cubs. https://t.co/yGU60A3aCX
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) December 19, 2017
The Astros, together with the Twins (who are said to be “prioritizing” Darvish) and Cubs, were mentioned as one of three suitors in that report out of Japan last week. That makes me wonder if a Twins meeting has happened or is coming soon, and that’s the origin of those three teams being mentioned in the report out of Japan.
In any case, to the extent Darvish feels a particular connection to Texas, the Astros will have that going for them, as well as a fresh World Championship – the winning of which featured them bombing out Darvish twice (thanks in part to tipped pitches). Ultimately, given the earlier report that Darvish’s market may not yet have exceeded the four-year range, I’d still think money will do most of the talking, and you can’t rule out a surprise team like the Mariners or Phillies making a serious run. You also can’t rule out the Dodgers and Yankees (or another big market team) figuring out a way to drop more payroll, and get far enough under the luxury tax level to go after Darvish.
All that said, if we’re counting the Cubs among Darvish’s more serious suitors based on yesterday’s 3.5-hour meeting, it’s only fair to say the Astros are seriously in on Darvish as well.