Just a week ago, it didn’t feel like the Rangers were going to trade Yu Darvish. Now, though, it seems almost assured, as they’ve decided that they’re not only out of the postseason race in 2017, but that the return for Darvish in a trade is worth more to them than the exclusive negotiating window keeping him would give them. That much comes from Ken Rosenthal’s latest on Darvish, while more explicit mention of trading then re-signing Darvish comes from the Star-Telegram’s Jeff Wilson.
Rangers want to trade Yu Darvish, then sign him again
Monday’s Say Hey, Baseball looks at Yu Darvish trade rumors, Adrian Beltre’s 3,000th hit, and the 2017 MLB trade deadline.
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
The Dodgers are the primary suitor for Darvish, but per Rosenthal, Darvish also isn’t their top target, as they’re looking at Orioles closer Zach Britton and are considered the backup plan for Sonny Gray should the Yankees fail to make a deal for the A’s starter. The Yankees are in the opposite scenario, where they’re looking at Gray and see Darvish as a secondary option. There was a mystery team looking at Darvish on Sunday, but the identity of that club was revealed to be the Indians. Darvish’s no-trade clause prohibits a deal to Cleveland, unlike with New York or Los Angeles.
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That doesn’t mean Darvish won’t go to the Indians if they’re the ones willing to pay what the Dodgers or Yankees will not, but he’ll have a say in the matter, unlike with the other top suitors.
With the Yankees seemingly disinterested, the Indians a destination Darvish can reject, and the Dodgers unwilling to give up their very best prospects for Darvish, you’d think that would mean the Rangers are unlikely to deal the pending free agent. However, with the new compensation rules in place, the Rangers are only looking at a pick in the 75-80 range in next year’s draft in return for losing Darvish. That’s not as much of a motivator to hold on to a pending free agent as it once was, when someone like Darvish guaranteed a first-round pick as compensation.
So the bar for what the Rangers will begrudgingly accept for Darvish is lower than it would have been if this scenario played out a year ago, though, that doesn’t mean he’ll come cheap. He’s still the top starter on the block this deadline, rental or no, and the Rangers’ plan to improve their team with a trade and then bring back Darvish is a good one.
- Adrian Beltre became the 31st member of the 3,000 hit club with a double off Wade Miley on Sunday. Beltre is also the first ever Dominican-born player with 3,000 hits and is one of just 10 players in history with 400 homers to go with all those knocks.
- We all know Adrian Beltre should be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, but when did that knowledge become clear? It wasn’t that long ago that there were critics of his long-term deal with the Rangers, or Mariners fans and media believing he was a Seattle bust.
- Whitney McIntosh put together the Adrian Beltre Encylopedia, a look at everything we love about the newest member of the 3,000 hit club.
- It’s the 20th anniversary of one of the worst trades in baseball history, so be sure to congratulate a Mariners fan on this achievement. Or a Red Sox fan, if you want to talk to someone who would actually be celebrating.
- The Cubs were linked to Tigers Alex Avila and Justin Wilson in recent weeks, and now they’ve reportedly traded for both of them.
- The Yankees dealt for Jaime Garcia in a move Pinstripe Alley explained as both perfectly sensible and totally weird.
- The Yankees, by the way, might not need a big-name starter acquisition to win the AL East.
- Buying Garcia just to sell him might seem odd for the Twins, but they’ve recently added three pitching prospects to their system at a cost of basically nothing.
- The Sonny Gray market continues to narrow, as the Braves are now considered a longshot.
- Darvish rumors and Beltre’s hits aren’t the only Rangers news, as they also dealt Jonathan Lucroy to the Rockies.
- You can keep up with all the trade rumors and completed trades today with our 2017 MLB Deadline Tracker.
- Jeff Bagwell was enshrined in the Hall of Fame wearing a 2000s-era Astros cap.
- Bagwell, Tim Raines, and Ivan Rodriguez were all inducted into Cooperstown on Sunday, and they reflected on their journeys with Richard Justice.
- MLB, maybe you can schedule next year’s Hall of Fame induction for sometime in August or June when you don’t have trades and trade rumors to contend with.
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