Dodgers, Rangers at an ‘impasse’ in Yu Darvish trade talks

Update: The Rangers and Dodgers completed the trade before the deadline.

The trade deadline is 4 p.m. ET today, so if the Dodgers and Rangers are going to figure out a Yu Darvish trade, they’ll have to do it soon. As of Monday morning, the two sides are “are at an impasse” according to FanRag’s Jon Heyman, with Heyman adding that “LA loves its prospects” as the reason for said impasse.

We’ve known this specific instance was a distinct possibility for these trade negotiations for a while now: It’s just how the Dodgers operate, and it’s why we graded the initial Darvish/Dodgers rumor a C+ in our series of trade rumor grades. And it’s worked for them to this point — notice all the productive youth on their roster.

However, it did feel like things could be a little different this summer, given Clayton Kershaw’s second season in a row hitting the disabled list because of a back injury and all the productive youths the Dodgers already have on their roster.

This impasse could mostly be posturing from both sides, though, so don’t automatically assume any deal is off. The Rangers likely want to get more while they still have some time before 4 p.m. rolls around, while the Dodgers would love to give up as little as possible — i.e., not their very best prospects — for a rental.

If the Yankees get Sonny Gray or the Indians come at the Rangers with a healthy Darvish offer, we might see the Dodgers step it up. But until someone decides to knock down that first domino, it’s impasses all around.

The Rangers want to trade Darvish so they get a better return for him than a compensation pick after the second round of the 2018 MLB draft. They plan on attempting to re-sign him whether he’s dealt or not, so they’re in a position where giving him up makes the most sense. The Dodgers know this, as do the Yankees and Indians and any potential mystery team that’s still out there, so expect Darvish negotiations to keep on going until pretty close to the actual deadline.