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As Ken Rosenthal of FOX and MLB Network reported on Thursday, Rangers starter Yu Darvish has the ability to block trades to 10 teams: the Orioles, Red Sox, Cubs, Indians, Rockies, White Sox, Tigers, Athletics, Pirates, and Blue Jays.
Despite the fact that Darvish pitched in a mild climate in Hokkaido, Japan from 2005-11, it’s evident that he’s not the biggest fan of cold-weather cities. The only team listed above that plays in a city with a warmer climate is Oakland, and there’s a host of reasons—with the stadium and the constant roster shuffling standing out as two significant ones—why he’d prefer not to be traded to the Athletics.
Ultimately, the disclosure of Darvish’s no-trade list doesn’t change much. The teams mentioned as favorites to acquire him if he’s moved have been the Dodgers, Yankees, and Brewers, and none of those teams are on his list. It’s unlikely that the Rangers would deal him to the archrival Astros, but he can’t block a trade there either if Texas decides to consider that possibility. The only team on his no-trade list that might have made a bit of sense as a landing spot for Darvish is the Cubs, and that was a near impossibility anyway now that Chicago has acquired Jose Quintana.