(MLB) Rangers land Darvish in $60M deal

[MistaNova]

ARLINGTON -- Yu Darvish is undertaking the journey from Japan to the U.S. with the intention of helping the Rangers achieve their goal of winning a World Series championship.

That is one of the reasons why he is coming to Texas and why the Rangers are willing to invest approximately $112 million in the 25-year-old right-hander, who has spent the past seven years pitching for the Hokkaido Nippon Ham Fighters in Japan's Pacific League.

In the end it's all about winning, and that's why the Rangers worked so hard to bring negotiations to a successful conclusion before Wednesday's 4 p.m. CT deadline.

"This was a step-out deal," general manager Jon Daniels said. "This is a major investment in a player who we feel can get us back to the World Series and help us win it. Our ownership really stepped up, and our scouts did as thorough of a job with their homework as you possibly can.

"We look at this as a perfect fit for us. We're bringing in a player who we feel has proven himself on the big stage. It's all about winning, and we're bringing in a guy with a big arm, competitiveness and a work ethic that works well for what we are trying to do."

Darvish, a two-time Pacific League Most Valuable Player, agreed to a six-year, $60 million deal. The agreement came 30 days after the Rangers won the negotiating rights to him with a $51.7 million posting bid that goes directly to the Nippon Ham Fighters.

Darvish is guaranteed $54 million, with another $4 million possible in roster bonuses. There are other escalating clauses that raise the value of the contract, which he can opt out of after the fifth year depending on whether he wins or places high in the Cy Young Award voting.

Darvish went 18-6 with a 1.44 ERA in 28 games and 232 innings for the Fighters last year. It was his fifth straight season with an ERA under 2.00, and his 276 strikeouts were the highest by a Japanese pitcher since Hideo Nomo recorded that many in 1993.

Over the past five seasons, Darvish is 76-28 with a 1.72 ERA in 1,024 innings. He struck out 1,083 and walked 221 while holding opponents to a .192 batting average. He twice led the Pacific League in ERA and in 2007 won the Eiji Sawamura Award, given to the top pitcher in Japan.

Read The Whole Story Here: http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20120117&content_id=26373244&vkey=news_mlb&c_id=mlb

[Chamillitary Click]

He'll be terrible.

[TheRemedy360Ressurection]

If they sign Fielder on top of this I'm going on a shooting spree.

[Chamillitary Click]

If they sign Fielder on top of this I'm going on a shooting spree.

[MistaNova]

Dude just got divorced now that's he's coming to the states...

<- His ex

[TheRemedy360Ressurection]

Apparently this guy is a partier and has a big personality, unlike Ichiro, that stoic bastard.

[TheRemedy360Ressurection]

What makes you guys so sure he's gonna suck? I'm not sure what he'll amount to, but just because Daisuke was a bust doesn't mean he will be too. Granted, they paid WAY too much for a guy without big league experience but I'm gonna wait till I actually see him play to label him as horrible. Anyways, for my divisions sake I hope you're right, at least my M's got the Messiah.

[Hack Wilson - real]

What makes you guys so sure he's gonna suck? I'm not sure what he'll amount to, but just because Daisuke was a bust doesn't mean he will be too. Granted, they paid WAY too much for a guy without big league experience but I'm gonna wait till I actually see him play to label him as horrible. Anyways, for my divisions sake I hope you're right, at least my M's got the Messiah.

he could be pretty good i think

[MistaNova]

What makes you guys so sure he's gonna suck? I'm not sure what he'll amount to, but just because Daisuke was a bust doesn't mean he will be too. Granted, they paid WAY too much for a guy without big league experience but I'm gonna wait till I actually see him play to label him as horrible. Anyways, for my divisions sake I hope you're right, at least my M's got the Messiah.

Only time will tell how good he'll be, but the Rangers are hoping (and know) that even if Darvish sucks his jerseys and various merchandise'll be bought by millions of Yu's fans in Japan and eventually bring back a portion of the money the Rangers spent on getting Yu in the first place. Can you imagine how much they'll make this year when Darvish and Ichiro face off for the first time? Plus a lot of people say Yu's not like your average Japanese pitcher. He's taller, he's got better pitches, his wife was a model and he's had more success in Japan than anyone who came to the majors before (including Hideo Nomo).

[TheRemedy360Ressurection]

^ Yeah, from what I hear he has something like 5-6 pitches. And a Yu/Ichiro match up would be interesting but not as much these days considering Ichiro's best days are far behind him.

[Hack Wilson - real]

just remember this niggai s used to pitching weekly not every 5 days