UPDATE 10:31 PM EST: At this very moment, we're waiting for the Nippon Ham Fighters to announce the amount of the winning bid, after which MLB will announce the team that won. The common wisdom says it's either Toronto or Texas, but I'm hoping it's some crazy bid out of nowhere, like Florida or Kansas City or Seattle. Stay right here 'til we find out.
1:06 PM EST: The MLB team who bid the highest on Japanese pitcher Yu Darvish will be announced by the Nippon Ham Fighters tonight, according to Danny Knobbler of CBS Sports. The announcement is expected to be from 7-8pm central time tonight, making that 8-9 on the east coast.
These last few days we have heard an awful lot about who did not win the bid on Darvish, and it seems like the top contenders are the Texas Rangers and Toronto Blue Jays as of right now. One of both of these teams offered $51 million to get his rights from the Ham Fighters, making it the highest bid for a Japanese player ever, exceeding Daisuke Matsuzaka with the Boston Red Sox.
If the Blue Jays were to get him, and it seems like they are the favorites, that could dramatically change things in the high powered American League East. Where do you think he will land? Let us know in the comments section.