Obsessive Yu Darvish Watch: Cubs Best Bet to Land Him? Twins Still Want a Meeting
It wouldn’t be an Obsessive Watch if we didn’t obsess over every little detail, right?
With the free agent market still at a standstill, and with Yu Darvish still rumored to be the Cubs’ preferred starting pitching target, it seems like there could be a break any day now. But it’s possible the Twins are a bit of a hangup in the Darvish situation – or, at least, their calendar is:
Told tonight that the #MNTwins front office and free agent starter Yu Darvish (@faridyu) are still trying to match schedules to meet face-to-face.
— Darren Wolfson (@DWolfsonKSTP) January 3, 2018
If that’s an important step for both sides in getting into the formal offer process, and if Darvish doesn’t want to make his decision before getting that offer from the Twins, well, then, here we are. The waiting game.
In the meantime, you’ll continue to see speculation on where the top free agent starter is going to wind up, including this from David Schoenfield, who writes about the top remaining free agents. Schoenfield breaks down Darvish’s perceived market, concluding that the Cubs and Astros are the most likely teams, with the Cubs getting the nod. It’s not an especially bold prediction when you consider that the only other teams that might be involved and aren’t excluding themselves because of the luxury tax are the Rangers (supposed budget limitations), the Twins (small market), the Cardinals (so many other free agent targets), the Mariners (haven’t seen many rumors), and … the Angels? The Orioles? The Brewers? It’s really difficult to come up with obvious suitors for a $100+ million pitcher this year.
Hence, for the Cubs, they are not necessarily waiting on Darvish, as they are rumored to have a price level they’re willing to go on Jake Arrieta, and I’d guess the same is true for Alex Cobb. And if any of that trio finally decides to jump at the Cubs’ price, then I think the Cubs will snag the one they can get, given that each comes with plenty of plusses and minuses, but the Cubs could really, really stand to land one of them.
