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The Yankees do not look as if they are going to be in play for top free-agent starter Yu Darvish, according to Nick Cafardo of The Boston Globe.
Cafardo reports that New York general manager Brian Cashman “acknowledged the team would have to shed a major contract in order to fit in Darvish and remain under the luxury tax.”
“I’m very happy with our rotation right now and I don’t think we need to do something unless it makes sense for us,” Cashman said to Cafardo, who suggested that the Yankees trade Jacob Ellsbury to make the signing happen.
Cafardo added that the “Twins, Rangers, and Cubs seem to have a better chance of landing Darvish at this juncture.”
The news is somewhat surprising because just eight days ago, Darvish had said the Yankees did make an offer for him. At first, Darvish refuted a report by Michael Kay of ESPN Radio that he received a seven-year, $160 million offer from the Yankees in a reply to a Twitter user, saying, “They don’t give me offer yet.” However, Darvish tweeted a correction later on, saying, “Sorry guys. My mistake. Actually they did make offer but the numbers are not correct.”
With the Yankees more than likely not being a possibility, Darvish’s suitors are down to the three that Cafardo mentioned plus the Dodgers, who Darvish suggested was “in.”
The Cubs met with Darvish back in December and would like to have someone anchor their rotation if they don’t bring back ace Jake Arrieta, who is also a free agent.
In regards to the Rangers, they are a natural soft spot for Darvish, as he loved playing for the Rangers for four-and-a-half seasons before being traded to the Dodgers at the non-waiver deadline in 2017.
As for the Dodgers, Darvish was open to returning to them after helping them make the World Series by winning games in both the NLDS and NLCS, but had two disastrous starts in the Fall Classic, including Game 7.
The Twins have made it known that Darvish is a big priority, but will they be able to out-bid the other clubs for him?