I guess it’s Brewers Night at Bleacher Nation. Beggars choosers and all that.
But not unlike the earlier rumor about a trade going down involving the Brewers, this also has direct implications for the Cubs, because it’s about Yu Darvish.
A Sponichi report out of Japan seems to indicate that the Brewers have officially entered the fray for the free agent righty, who was seemingly down to the Cubs, Twins, and Yankees (though the Brewers were the one other team speculated about at that time):
【ブルワーズ ダル正式オファー】ドジャースからFAとなっているダルビッシュ有投手の獲得に、ブルワーズが本格参戦。古巣のドジャースなど6球団で「にらみ合い」が続いてきた争奪戦が、一気に進展する可能性も。 https://t.co/BJABkWVdyS
— Yahoo!ニュース (@YahooNewsTopics) January 22, 2018
All caveats about using Google Translate apply, but it looks like the report is about the Brewers stepping up with an offer for Darvish. I probably would have shared and discussed this anyway, but Darvish himself did what he does, upping the intrigue by quote-tweeting the report:
https://twitter.com/faridyu/status/955234435632386048
Are you confirming the report, Yu? Are you questioning it’s veracity? YOU ARE VERY GOOD AT TEASING, DUDE.
It’s not like you can’t make a perfectly plausible argument for the Brewers – just like the Twins. They have the clear need, and the clear playoff aspirations. The market has not sent the prices for guys like Darvish soaring, so it may be a unique opportunity for a smaller market club to land a top arm on an affordable deal. And, if you’re the Brewers, your worst case scenario is that maybe you push up the price tag a bit on a divisional foe like the Cubs.
The Brewers have otherwise been connected to Jake Arrieta this offseason, so, once again, them also being in on Darvish makes plenty of sense. Perhaps word of the offer, itself, will soon trickle out, which would finally give us some actual numbers to discuss on Darvish. To date, we’ve seen nothing but speculation about how few years teams like the Cubs are willing to offer, and speculation about what *kind* of offer the Yankees might make. Nothing especially firm or useful for dissection.
Clearly, the Brewers are remaining active out there, hoping to take the next step forward after last season’s surprisingly competitive run. It’s probably a coincidence that the other report – the one about a Brewers trade being “close” – came out tonight, too, but it’d be interesting to see that they’re not entirely unrelated if and when everything shakes loose.
UPDATE: Just a little confirmation:
Source confirms: #Brewers have made offer to Darvish. First reported: Yahoo Japan.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) January 22, 2018