MLB free agency: Yu Darvish open to Dodgers return

The finalists to sign Yu Darvish have been listed many times as the baseball world awaits his decision on where to pitch next, but the delay could be due to a desire to return to Los Angeles and stay with the Dodgers, Andy McCullough of the Los Angeles Times reports.

While responding to mailbag quesitons, McCullough stated that Darvish “made it clear” he wants to return to the Dodgers, and part of this delay in Darvish’s decision making is because the 31-year-old is waiting to see if the Dodgers can move some money around to afford a deal for the four-time All-Star.

The Dodgers have reportedly been trying to move assets such as Yasmani Grandal and Logan Forsythe in an attempt to clear up room for a signing such as Darvish. Of course, the Dodgers already have the funds to sign Darvish to a deal, but they would also like to get underneath the luxury tax after paying the penalty for five straight seasons.

Darvish enjoyed some strong starts for the Dodgers in 2017 after coming over from the Rangers at the trade deadline, but his most memorable moments in Los Angeles are his World Series clunkers against the Astros, who were considered to also be in the mix for Darvish before trading for Gerrit Cole. The Cubs, Yankees, Twins and Rangers remain in the Darvish sweepstakes as well.